Van Gaal isn’t convinced Marcus Rashford is ready to be first choice at Manchester United
Evidently Marcus Rashford’s stellar play for Manchester United over the past few weeks hasn’t been enough to fully win over Louis van Gaal
Manchester United fans who are counting on Marcus Rashford to be the team’s starting striker next season might want to hold their horses. Manager Louis van Gaal has thrown cold water on Rashford’s piping hot career with his most recent comments.
The Daily Star quotes van Gaal as saying that Rashford is “not ready” and furthermore, that the player “knows it.” That’s a strange observation from a manager who’s watched Rashford burst onto the Premier League scene with a sizzling seven goals in his first 13 senior appearances.
I’m all for trying to manage the expectations of young English talent, but this seems to be taking things a little too far. While United may very well choose to buy a world-class attacker to play in front of Rashford next season, it doesn’t mean that the young starlet isn’t ready to assume the role full-time. In fact, this could be evidence of why young English talent has such difficulty breaking through at some of England’s top-flight clubs.
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At the vast majority of Premier League clubs, Rashford would be a lock to enter next season as the starting number nine. Don’t you think that someone like Swansea or West Brom wouldn’t kill to have Rashford leading their lines next year? Of course they would. It’s only because of United’s sense of entitlement that van Gaal is still questioning Rashford’s qualifications.
While he isn’t anywhere near a finished article, we’ve seen enough of Rashford this season to feel confident that he’ll be at worst, an above average Premier League regular next year. Van Gaal should look around his current squad and count how many of his current starting 11 he can truly say that about. Here’s a hint, it isn’t very many.
Instead of throwing doubts about Rashford around in the press, van Gaal should be working to carefully grow the young striker’s game and confidence. It’s a delicate balance to be sure, but downplaying his chances to start next year could do just as much damage as touting him to lead the league in goals. Van Gaal has to find a happy medium.
Of course there’s also the possibility that van Gaal’s opinion on who should start up top for United next year isn’t going to matter at all. Maybe the question would be better posed to Jose Mourinho. What an ironic twist of fate it would be to see Mourinho coming in as the avenue for a young player getting his big chance. That’s far from a sure bet, but Mourinho does seem to have a better eye for talent than van Gaal.
Related Story: Who has the brighter future: Marcus Rashford or Dele Alli?
Marcus Rashford may not be Manchester United’s starting striker next season, but it won’t be a question of his readiness. It only depends on who the Red Devils are able to purchase in this summer’s transfer market.