England manager Gareth Southgate has stated that it is good that Manchester United youngster Marcus Rashford isn’t “pinned down to one position”, with Southgate expected to play the 19-year-old in midfield for the game against France.

Not important for him to pinned down at this time

It has been an astronomical rise for the youngster since being handed his debut in February 2016, but Rashford has been played in a number of positions since then.

The 19-year-old has been frequently played out on the wing by José Mourinho throughput the last campaign, which Southgate looks to have adopted in the latest international break.

Rashford was played out on the wing in Sunday's 2-2 draw with Scotland but looked isolated before being hauled off for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, but Southgate said that the experience will be good for his development and that not being tied down to one position will be good for him.

“I don’t think it’s important at this particular time that he is pinned down to one position,” Southgate mentioned at his pre-match press conference. “He has the ability - and has had right through his youth career - to play wide and play central.”

“He has recognised that, talking to him,” the coach stressed to the gathered press. “It is a good opportunity for him to learn the game and get a broader view of the game.”

“The reality is … who knows what his best position will be in the end?,” he said. “We all have a feel that it will be as a nine.”

“But he is a player that can beat players from wide areas and, for us,” Southgate added. “We thought it gave us another goalscoring threat coming into the game.”

Already breaking ground in the transfer market

As expected it will be a big summer for the Red Devils as they look to assert themselves back amongst the biggest sides of the country, and they have already began to splash what is expected to be a big pot of cash this summer.

They have started well as they announced on Saturday they had agreed a fee with Benfica for defender Victor Lindelöf, with the Portuguese club confirming a fee of £30.7million with a further £8.8m available in terms of performance incentives.

The Swedish international has yet to agree personal terms with the club, but the deal is expected is to be completed come the transfer windows official opening on July 1 subject to personal terms, international clearance and a medical.

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About the author
Danial  Kennedy
Award-winning sports journalism graduate. Currently studying a PR Masters at the University of Sunderland. Writing for VAVEL since August 2014. Twitter - @ddkjournalism.