Introducing Marcus Rashford

Marcus Rashford was a late addition to the Manchester United starting XI who played Midtjylland on Thursday night after Anthony Martial was injured in the warm-up. Here is the lowdown on the promising young striker...

INTRODUCTION

A senior figure in the club’s Academy, the forward captained the Under-19 team in the first UEFA Youth League outing against PSV Eindhoven, netting twice in a 3-0 success. Born and raised in Manchester, he was top scorer in last season’s Under-18s with 13 goals and made his Reserves bow in the Lancashire Senior Cup tie against Rochdale.

POSITION

Although he was not initially reckoned to be an out-and-out striker, he has grown into the role and is learning to lead the line and become a focal point of the attack. Possibly more of a wide forward, he is able to utilise his pace in the channels and cause problems for defences with his movement.

STYLE

Rashford is a strong runner who is taking on more responsibility and links well with the other technical attacking players in the team. At 18, he has plenty of growing to do which will be crucial to his development as a lone striker. As he continues to improve his finishing, he is enhancing his game all the time and ironing out any weaknesses.

HIGHLIGHT

The introduction to the UEFA Youth League was an impressive one. Not only did he show his prowess from the penalty spot, scoring as he had done in the Under-18s’ 1-1 draw at Blackburn Rovers, but he stretched the PSV defence and added a wonderful third strike at Sportcomplex de Herdgang. Following in the footsteps of James Wilson in the tournament, who also captained the Under-19 side as a striker in 2013, he was unfortunately affected by injury during the group stages.

BEST PERFORMANCE

A superb showing at Tottenham Hotspur saw him net twice in last season’s U18 play-offs, one of four times when a brace of his goals clinched a 2-0 triumph. The win in April helped fuel a genuine assault on the nationwide title for the United youngsters who moved to the top of the table. Unlucky not to complete a hat-trick late on, the teenager upset a defence he had already breached with a splendid free-kick in the FA Youth Cup.

TRIVIA

Rashford scored in every single appearance in September 2015, all six fixtures, and his penalty in the 1-1 draw with Wolfsburg at Leigh Sports Village made it eight goals in total for the month alone.