David Moyes admits that he feels bad for Jesse Lingard as the midfielder continues to struggle for minutes at Manchester United.
West Ham benefitted mightily from Lingard's loan spell last season, with the midfielder scoring nine times in 16 appearances and helping the Hammers to a sixth-placed finish.
This season, West Ham currently sit fourth, three points ahead of Manchester United, where Lingard has featured just 11 times this season.
What did Moyes say?
"I can't really talk about him because he's a Manchester United player and it's not for me to talk," said Moyes.
"But he was really good for us. Jesse knows what we all think of him here. My disappointment for Jesse would be, I think he's such a talented football player and he's not playing.
"He played a big part in our second half of last season. But you'd have to give credit to the players here, they've moved on without Jesse.
"People might have thought Jesse made a difference here. But the players have moved on and stepped to another level themselves. But I've got to say, Jesse was a big part of that."
The big picture
Even without Lingard, West Ham have kicked on this season as they currently sit in the fourth and final Champions League spot through 14 games.
Lingard's future, though, remains uncertain as he enters the final months of his Man Utd contract, prompting talk of a January move.
Before his sacking, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer insisted that Lingard remained a "big part" of the squad, but it remains to be seen how the midfielder will fare under new manager Ralf Rangnick.
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