Manchester United starlet Marcus Rashford has been advised to consider sacrificing his England career to focus on becoming a better striker.
Writing in his column for the Daily Mirror, former Premier League star Stan Collymore has suggested Rashford should tell England he’ll only accept a call-up if he’s playing as a centre-forward.
MORE: Best midfielders on FIFA 20: Man United’s Pogba three ratings higher than Liverpool’s Fabinho but behind Kante and De Bruyne
And if not, Collymore believes the 21-year-old could then use his time off during the international break to do extra training ground work and develop his game.
While this sounds like a big call from the pundit, there does seem some sense in Rashford giving this a try, as it does seem like his progress has stalled somewhat in recent times due to switching positions so much.
Rashford perhaps looks unlikely to overtake Harry Kane as England’s first choice number nine any time soon, though of course it wouldn’t be easy to snub the honour of representing the Three Lions either.
The England international has not made the best start to the 2019/20 season and it seems clear that something needs to change if he’s going to successfully replace Romelu Lukaku at Old Trafford.
“There’s no way Rashford can toddle off with England every few months and play out wide and then go back to Old Trafford and play like Ruud van Nistelrooy,” Collymore said.
“So there’s a potential problem brewing for him.
“And at 21, maybe now is the time for him to say, ‘You know what, I might not get into the next three squads if I say I’ll only play as a No.9.
“‘But if that is the case then I’ll go back to Carrington during international breaks and say, ‘Gaffer, teach me everything I need to know about operating within the width of the 18-yard box and playing with my back to goal’.”