Life couldn’t get much better for a certain young Manchester United star named Marcus Rashford now, could it? The up and coming striker has recently scored the winner in the famous Manchester Derby, helped the Red Devils see off rivals Arsenal with a well-taken brace last month and has simply gone about his business in the top tier all at the tender age of just 18.
The future therefore looks to be a rather promising place for the young Englishman, and as some have even spoken of a surprise call-up to the England national team at EURO 2016, perhaps life could actually get even better for the recently emerged Old Trafford favourite.
Yet despite the immediate sense of hype and sensation predictably surrounding the vastly inexperienced centre-forward, is Rashford really worthy of a spot in the Three Lions squad at Euro 2016, or does such a left-field notion remain nothing short of ridiculous?
Well, even if the 18-year-old manages to successfully tear the English top-flight apart between now and the final culmination of the 2015/16 campaign, it seems EURO 2016 may still simply arrive far too early.
Louis van Gaal’s newfound no. 39 deserves praise for how readily he has taken to his Premier League duties since being thrust in at the deep end earlier on this season, but as the emerging striker could easily drop off the boil considerably in the not too distant future, now is no time to be getting carried away with what Rashford could potentially achieve later on in his career.
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Man United have pinned all of their hopes on sensational goalscoring youngsters in the past after all, remember Federico Macheda?
In any case, Rashford has only netted three Premier League goals, which simply doesn’t compare with the recent exploits of both Jamie Vardy and Harry Kane, as well as several other – perhaps less obvious – Three Lions contenders such as Michail Antonio at West Ham.
The young man has arguably only burst onto the scene due to the sheer lack of foresight in Old Trafford boardroom this season. Despite spending close to £250m throughout the course of the two previous summer transfer windows, Manchester United are now seemingly relying upon a fresh-faced 18-year-old – who still resembles something of an up and coming school boy – to do the business up-top.
Although LVG certainly deserves his fair share of credit for taking the plunge when the pressure was really on, such a shock turn of events doesn’t necessarily mean that England must desperately come a-callin’.
Put in no uncertain terms whatsoever, Rashford would have likely received very little attention from the Three Lions set-up had he been plying his trade for a less prestigious side than Man United. Roy Hodgson seems rather keen on selecting the vast majority of his players from the Premier League’s ‘bigger’ outfits, it must be said.
Take Watford’s Troy Deeney for example. The hard-working Hornets man has amassed more Premier League goals and assists than the once mercurial Wayne Rooney across the 2015/16 campaign, but we all know who Hodgson will ultimately call upon when push really comes to shove at the end of the current season…
In the end, Marcus Rashford simply doesn’t deserve to be anywhere near the Three Lions squad this summer. It may make for romantic and sensationalised headline making at best, but as England have several other in-form striking counterparts to call upon at EURO 2016, surely Rashford’s bold international claim remains little more than a non-starter right in the here and now.
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