The rise of Jesse Lingard this season has been quite remarkable.

It may have taken him more than a few years to find his feet, but the 25-year-old forward is now one of Manchester United and England's most important players.

His performances for the Three Lions against Holland and Italy during the international break have most fans picking him over Dele Alli for the World Cup starting XI.

And Lingard carried on his impressive form for United on Saturday, playing an instrumental role in the 2-0 victory over Swansea.

Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez scored the goals, but it was the Englishman who was by far the best player on the pitch in his favoured number ten role.

His touch was impeccable and his assist for Sanchez's goal was beautiful.

So when Red Devils legend Rio Ferdinand was asked to give his verdict on Lingard in the BT Sport studio after Everton 1-3 Man City, he got a little excited.

Although, what he said was pretty much spot on after watching Lingard v Swansea. You can see Ferdinand's interview below.

After complimenting his quick, one-touch play in a deeper midfield role, something which Ferdinand says few midfielders offer these days, the BT Sport pundit offers Lingard possibly the highest praise he will have ever received.

"He could have played in our era, in my team, he would have definitely been involved."

Wow, that's some statement.

The likes of Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo all featured as the creative forward players in Rio's teams, so to say Lingard would have had a place is something pretty special.

After the Swansea game, Lingard spoke about the faith Sir Alex Ferguson showed in him when he was in the youth setup.

"Me and my dad put that trust in him [Ferguson] to say that," Lingard told Sky Sports. "It's obviously worked. He guessed right.

"I think it's my time now. I knew we had to step up and kind of take charge. That's what I've done.

"The goals have come, which has given me confidence. Each game I just want to score now, that's my main objective."