Who is Marcus Rashford? Manchester United include 18-year-old on substitutes' bench for Watford match
United's Under-19 captain has travelled to Vicarage Road and could be handed his senior debut
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Manchester United are set to include 18-year-old striker Marcus Rashford for Saturday’s Premier League trip to Watford as manager Louis van Gaal turns to youth in a bid to ease his mounting injury crisis.
The Dutchman revealed on Friday that he will be without captain Wayne Rooney and fellow striker Anthony Martial for the resumption of the Premier League due to illness and a foot injury respectively.
Both played in the England vs France encounter at Wembley last Tuesday, where Martial suffered a blow to his foot and left the stadium on crutches. However, Van Gaal hopes they will both be back in contention for the Champions League clash with PSV Eindhoven in midweek.
With the pair absent, Van Gaal may have called on Marouane Fellaini to fill a makeshift striker role, but the Belgian midfielder has not recovered from a calf strain that he picked up in the victory over CSKA Moscow at the start of the month and is also unavailable along with Michael Carrick and long-term absentees Antonio Valencia and Luke Shaw.
The outcome is that 18-year-old Rashford has been included in the squad and could make his senior debut against the Hornets, although he is expected to start in the substitutes’ bench with Memphis Depay leading the attack.
Rashford, who captain’s United’s Under-19 side managed by ex-midfielder Nicky Butt, is Manchester born and bred and will be the latest academy player given a first-team chance by Van Gaal, with no fewer than eight youth products being given their chance in the first-team during the Dutchman’s tenure at Old Trafford.
Rashford played in a youth match against Newcastle in midweek with Van Gaal watching in the stands, and the forward has scored six goals in 11 Premier League Under 18 matches this season which has led to his call-up to the first team.
He could be joined on the bench by another academy player in midfielder Sean Goss, who has also travelled to Vicarage Road, although he is expected to be injury cover for the squad.
Butt has previously described Rashford as someone who has grown into the role of captaining a team, as the former United star said: “He is becoming a leader.”
While Van Gaal has been praised for giving young prospects along the likes of Tyler Blackett, Paddy McNair and most recently Jesse Lingard a chance to break into the first team, the crisis has exposed United’s failing in the transfer window.
United allowed Netherlands international Robin van Persie to leave the club in a move to Fenerbahce while choosing not to pursue Radamel Falcao following a dismal loan spell. The club also let Mexico striker Javier Hernandez join Bayer Leverkusen in the summer, while Adnan Januzaj is spending most of his loan spell with Borussia Dortmund sat on the substitutes’ bench.
Questions will be asked of Van Gaal and executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward as to why United are short on striker’s given over £250m has been spent since Van Gaal arrived at the club in 2014.
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