Having impressed us with his performances last season, Manchester United starlet Marcus Rashford is continuing with assembling a star studded fan cast, with the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Jose Mourinho joining the group that believes that the young 18-year-old has a bright future ahead.
Also Read: EPL 2016-17: Zlatan Ibrahimovic names Marcus Rashford as his successor
Having made 18 starts under Louis Van Gaal last season, Rashford is yet to make a start under Jose Mourinho. However, he might not have to wait too long, especially with the Portuguese manager claiming that he is expected to start against Feyenoord in the Europa League fixture midweek.
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While many pundits might believe that the player is still a work in progress and should be used judiciously, we, for one, believe the player should start more games and Mourinho’s decision to start him in the Europa League tie is a right one especially considering his performance in the Manchester Derby defeat this past weekend.
United need mobility up front
Yes, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been finding the back of the net consistently ever since he made the move to the Manchester club and Wayne Rooney is the club captain. However, neither of them provide the mobility that is required at the top of the pitch.
He demonstrated great pace and acceleration during his time on the pitch last season and did so against Manchester City over the weekend, after coming on as a substitute for Henrikh Mkhitaryan. His balance, constant haggling of the defenders, link up play with other attackers as well as ability to take on the opposition and beat them have made him a constant threat to the opposition.
The side is not short of creativity with the likes of Paul Pogba, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Juan Mata having showcased a penchant for creating chances at will in the past. However, what they have often lacked is somebody to capitalise on the same and the introduction of the young number 9 could harness the true attacking potential of the side.
His versatility benefits the side.
Despite being just 18 years of age, the young player has adapted to playing in a number of positions. While he learnt his trade as a number 10, he has made the required set up to a number 9’s role, to the great delight of the club’s fans. His 8 goals in 18 appearances in all competitions last season was a testament to his prowess in front of the goal.
He is unusually calm in the box for a player his age, can bring his teammates into play and successfully converted over 55% of the chances that fell his way last season, which is an incredible statistic for a player his age.
He can also as effective on the wings as he has been in the middle of the pitch, as showcased in the game against Manchester City and would prove to be a great threat to the opposition’s full backs. Additionally, he is not limited by playing style and can feature as a lone striker as well as in a striking partnership.
It provides his manager with an option to partner him alongside Ibrahimovic, who is not short on creative instincts himself, and could prove to be a great tactic against teams that are more than happy to sit back against the Red Devils.
His growth should not be disrupted
Much has been spoken about how pressure could undermine his growth as a footballer. However, we believe the mentioned reason is ill documented as talent, irrespective of the age of the player should be the criteria for playing him. In recent times, we have witnessed the likes of Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen and Cristiano Ronaldo were regular starters and were taking the league by the storm in their late teen years. Given the player’s skill sets, he should start more games at the club level to help him maintain his growth trajectory.
While there is a healthy competition at the club for starting spots, Rashford has been tipped to take over everything by none other than Zlatan and we are in agreement with him over the fact that he has all the ingredients to be a world beater. What is the necessity of the hour is an extended playing time and Mourinho, irrespective of his reputation as a manager who does not prefer the youth over established names, would be tempted to give him more starts in the games to come.
The big names at the club need to be woken up.
The club has a number of attacking options available to itself. However, none of the big names have managed to establish themselves at the club so far. While Mkhitaryan is still coming to terms with life in a new country, the likes of Memphis Depay, Jesse Lingard and even Wayne Rooney have failed to perform consistently, unlike Rashford.
The decision to start him more often in the place of more, reputed names, could prove to be the vital catalyst that could result in the mentioned players realising that they need to perform on the pitch in order to remain in the long term plans of the club, irrespective of the fees United might have paid to acquire their services.
Mourinho is not a man afraid to make the polarising decisions he believes in and his adamant nature could be beneficial to the side’s fortunes, as they seek to bring back the glory years to the red half of Manchester.
After being included in the England squad for the recently concluded Euro 2016, the striker has now been drafted into the national team’s U-21 squad owing to lack of playing time and would be keen to establish himself as a mainstay of the national side by finding adequate playing time for his club.
Rashford, who piles the pressure on the opposition, contributes to his side’s defence when needed and is ready to give it his all seems like a player who fits the Jose Mourinho player bill perfectly and we would not be surprised if The Special One decides that the young Englishman deserves to be on the pitch more often than his attacking colleagues.
