With the Manchester United career of top scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic looking all but over, a lot of pressure will now be placed on the shoulders of last season’s break through sensation, Marcus Rashford.
The England international, who has been in blistering form since returning to the fold in recent weeks, had been in and out of the side under manager Jose Mourinho this summer, however, will now have to handle leading the line as United push to break the top four with less than a month to go in the Premier League season, starting with the small matter of the Manchester Derby on Thursday.
If that wasn’t pressure enough, United hero Lee Sharpe, who played alongside some of the greatest academy graduates Old Trafford has seen, is now comparing him to the class of ’92 and the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo.
On Rashford, Sharpe told 888Sport:
“The last time I was this excited about a United youngster was, well, you can go right back to Paul Scholes and David Beckham for that. As for Ronaldo I can see the similarities. Everybody goes on about his pace but he’s also got unbelievable feet for someone so quick. He’s not small either and I like how his manager has coaxed him in gently and not put all the responsibility onto him straight away.”
“He’s looking absolutely fantastic and now that he’s back playing in his favourite position of centre-forward he’s started to score goals as well. So I can see similarities and if he becomes half the player Ronaldo is then we’re all in for a treat.”
Ibrahimovic will be a huge miss for Mourinho over their remaining games, which after Thursday’s derby still include both Arsenal and Tottenham, however, Sharpe feels that Rashford still offers something different to the former PSG and Barcelona star:
“When you look on paper at the amount of goals he’s scored you could say the top four place is now in danger. But he (Ibrahimovic) does slow things down a bit and if Marcus Rashford is given a go as a number nine he could cause as many problems, if not more, than Ibrahimovic does. In the handful of games that are left, Rashford is more than capable of scoring the goals to secure that top four spot.”
“Ibra is a big miss in that he raises the standard of the team around him when he plays but he can still have a big influence in the dressing room and the pace of Rashford and the younger lads might work to United’s advantage.”
Whilst it may seem outlandish to be making such comparisons so early on, there is some logic behind it. Fans at Old Trafford, like most clubs in English football, love seeing someone from their academy progressing into the youth ranks and to that end will give Rashford all the support he needs.
Furthermore, whilst just yet he is still a way off the likes of Beckham and Ronaldo in terms of skill, he is already showing a fearless streak which could well see him through clashes against the best in the business.
The young striker has already begun writing himself into United folklore, with huge goals on debuts, in derbies and when United need them most.
Taking all that into stock and, whilst Sharpe may just be adding unnecessary pressure on Rashford’s shoulders, give it a couple of years and he may have a point.