RASH CLASH
Jose ’n Southgate on collision course
JOSE MOURINHO is set for a showdown with England boss Gareth Southgate over Marcus Rashford.
Manchester United chief Mourinho does not want his young star to be involved in both of the Three Lions’ final World Cup qualifiers.
England face Slovenia tomorrow night at Wembley before travelling to Lithuania for their last Group F game on Sunday.
A win for Southgate’s men against Slovenia would book their place at Russia next summer and render the trip to Vilnius irrelevant.
Starsport understands Mourinho wants Rashford rested for the Lithuania game if qualification has already been secured.
United face Liverpool at Anfield a week on Saturday and Mourinho is keen for Southgate to show some common sense by going easy on the 19-year-old sensation.
Mourinho is desperate for the striker to avoid getting injured and wants him as fresh as possible for the clash against Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Rashford has made a superb start to the season with six goals for club and
country. He is rapidly becoming a key player for both sides and it remains to be seen if Southgate will cave in to Mourinho’s wishes.
In May, the England boss insisted he hadn’t been bullied by Mourinho into leaving the young forward out of the England Under-21 squad for the European Championship.
Mourinho was desperate for Rashford to miss the tournament after insisting he was too good for it.
The United boss was also keen on Rashford being available for the whole of his club’s pre-season tour of America and wanted him to have a break.
Southgate made sure the United star didn’t go to Poland and named him in the senior squad for the games against Scotland and France instead.
Happy
But he claimed Mourinho had no influence on the decision and that he makes choices that are best for the players – and not clubs.
He said at the time: “I am not in a position where I can make decisions to keep people happy.
“I’m not going to achieve that. If I am trying to keep Jose happy then that’s going to be, let’s say, fairly difficult.
“So I have got to make decisions that are right for England seniors long term.
“I think that Rashford’s relationship with England is key. We want a good working relationship with the clubs, of course we do.
“But they have got their own objectives and have got to make decisions that are right for them, and I have got to make decisions that are right for England.”