MARCUS THE NEW PIN-UP FROM ALL-STAR FINISHING SCHOOL
ONE wall of the clubhouse at Fletcher Moss Rangers in the Manchester suburb of West Didsbury is covered with team photos past and present. It makes for impressive viewing. The future Manchester United players who passed through this junior football club include Wes Brown, Ravel Morrison, Jesse Lingard, Cameron Borthwick-Jackson and Tyler Blackett. Two other youngsters with their pictures on the wall, seven years apart in age and at very different stages of their professional careers, will be on opposite sides tomorrow when Arsenal visit Old Trafford in the Barclays Premier League. Danny Welbeck’s 33 England caps and £16million price tag when he left United for the Emirates two years ago are proof of his star status at the age of 25. For Marcus Rashford, the journey still has some way to go. The 18-year-old reached a major milestone on Thursday night by scoring twice on his United senior debut against Midtjylland to help keep Louis van Gaal’s side in the Europa League. It was the stuff of dreams for the boyhood United fan who was thrown in as a late replacement for the injured Anthony Martial. Even by the high standards at Fletcher Moss, it came as something of a surprise. ‘Marcus Rashford had time to dream that one day he would be in Danny Welbeck’s shoes — I just didn’t think it would be this quick,’ said club secretary and coach Ron Jamieson. ‘What Danny did opened doors for people like Marcus. It showed that they’re not just there to make up the numbers. They can see the fruit in front of them and want some of that.’ According to Dave Horrocks, Rashford’s first coach at the club, he has the potential to be even better than Welbeck. ‘Marcus has far more pace than Danny ever had,’ said Horrocks. ‘Danny would wait for the ball to come to him. Marcus is hungry for it. He has the same mentality in training that Eric Cantona and David Beckham had.’ Rashford, who lives at home with his mum in Northern Moor and has three brothers and a sister, joined Fletcher Moss aged six. ‘He had a front tooth missing, his milk teeth were dropping out and he had a cheeky grin,’ recalled Jamieson. ‘But he was very polite, well mannered. Never gave an ounce of trouble.’ The youngster soon came to the attention of both Manchester clubs and trained with United and also City, whose academy was close to his old home in Fallowfield. Impressed by the training techniques of United coach Rene Meulensteen and the
club’s greater desire to sign him, nine-year-old Rashford chose red over blue. ‘City thought he was a bit on the small side for his age,’ said Jamieson. ‘United were looking at his ability not his size. ‘City only got keen when they found out United were sniffing. If they had done more instead of dilly-dallying then he could have played for City. ‘There was a bit of a tug of war. But United acted quickly and firmly.’ His progress has been impressive. Last season, Rashford was top scorer for the Under 18s. In September, he was made captain of the Under 19s, and then made his debut for the Under 21s. By November he was on the bench for Van Gaal’s side at Watford. Now Rashford is believed to be the first United player to score for all four teams in the same season. Understandably, he was the talk of Carrington yesterday where staff describe a level-headed young man who is unlikely to get carried away with his new celebrity status. ‘You can trust him,’ said one insider. ‘He’s got his head screwed on straight. He looks after his mum and is always buying her presents’ With Rashford’s contract, a basic £1,500 a week, due to expire in the summer of 2017 and a deal worth 10 times that figure inevitably on the way, she can expect even more in future. ‘He’s very humble but on the pitch he’s an explosive lad,’ said Jamieson. ‘You haven’t seen the best of him yet.’