For a while, many assumed Anthony Martial was the player who held the most similarity to Arsenal legend Thierry Henry but United academy’s head of coaching Nicky Butt, a member of the Class of 92’ believes Marcus Rashford’s playing style is reminiscent of the former French forward.
Rashford has had a whirlwind 2016. He burst onto the scene against Arsenal in the league last season scoring twice, as United won that game 3-2. He has been tipped for great things even earning himself an England call-up this summer for the Euros.
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Nicky BUtt spoke to the Times about his development and the type of player he might turn into.”He wasn't a centre forward as a youngster; he probably developed into that more out of necessity last season than design He actually was on the left. I believe his best position is off the side”
When asked if there is a resemblance to the Henry he said, “Yes. Blistering pace. When Marcus runs at you, you can't stop him. Until he gets his physicality about him he's going to find it very hard to play up against some of these centre-halves. It depends how the manager [Jose Mourinho] is going to play; if he plays a Michael Carrick, who can clip balls in for Marcus to run on to, then it's all different, he can run in behind all day.”
The worry about Rashford for United fans is the amount of game time he will get this season. Mourinho has a dubious record of not giving youngsters enough time on the pitch, often loaning them out to other clubs.
But Rashford seems to have the ability to mix it up with Jose’s big stars, something he proved in his last game when he scored the winner against Hull City. Butt believes Rasford will be a big part of United’s season under Jose.
“Marcus will get opportunities in the first team because he's that good, Lee Sharpe was the best player in the country, as a youngster, but you couldn't hold Ryan Giggs back much longer. Here it's Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Wayne Rooney, Anthony Martial or whoever's up top. If Marcus keeps doing what he's doing with his pace and directness, it's impossible to hold him back.”
Rashford might not start in the Manchester Derby this Saturday, but Jose Mourinho could think twice about his role. There are certain players in the team he could certainly replace with the 18-year-old on current form.
