Rashford Seeks 'Ultimate Striker' Status At Manchester United

Marcus Rashford hopes a prolific goalscoring season can help him become the "ultimate striker" and bring silverware to Manchester United, who face Leicester live on Sky Sports 1 on Saturday.

The 18-year-old has come a long way since his debut against Midtjylland seven months ago, embarking on a meteoric journey from near obscurity to the forefront of the first team at Old Trafford.

Having scored eight goals in his stunning breakthrough season, he has already found the net three times this term, most recently in United's EFL Cup victory at Northampton.

And, in an exclusive interview with Sky Sports' Geoff Shreeves, Rashford revealed his ambition to continue scoring en route to becoming a rounded striker capable of playing in a range of positions.

"I want to score more goals, the main ambition is goals," he said. "A few years ago my aim was to score as many goals as I could to show people my talents and what I could do.

"But now things have changed. There's some games where your touch might be off but that doesn't mean that you can't score goals and win the game for your team.

"As a team we have a good squad and we can compete for the titles this season. On a personal level, scoring a lot of goals is the main objective.

"I want to become the ultimate centre forward. I want to be able to play on the left, on the right and down the middle.

"To do that I need to improve my game down the sides because my positioning in those areas, where I haven't played since I was 12 or 13, is a bit off.

"The manager has been doing some work with me off the left and right so I think he's trying to improve me in those areas."

Many feared Jose Mourinho's arrival at Old Trafford would stifle Rashford's progression - those initial concerns may well have been justified with the England international making just two starts under the Portuguese so far this season.

However, just as he did under Louis van Gaal back in February, Rashford has seized his opportunity, choosing to draw positives from Mourinho's team selection rather than dwelling on the lack of game-time.

"It is frustrating but I'm not angry that I'm not playing because I understand it's difficult," he added.

"We have a lot of big players and a lot of players in my situation as well who are not getting the minutes they probably thought they deserved to get.

"But all of this is good for the squad because everyone is competing in training and it's improving us as players and as a squad. What the manager has done with the team and the players is a good thing.

"I'm just trying to play with freedom like I did last year and the manager supports me with that. Like he did in the Hull came, the manager just tells me to go and help the team win the game.

"But all of this is good for the squad because everyone is competing in training and it's improving us as players and as a squad. What the manager has done with the team and the players is a good thing.

"I'm just trying to play with freedom like I did last year and the manager supports me with that. Like he did in the Hull came, the manager just tells me to go and help the team win the game.

Credit: Skysports.com