Marcus Rashford is the player that Manchester United supporters have been waiting decades for. While plenty of players have made their way up through the academy and into the first team, going on to have successful careers at the club, United have struggled to produce top quality strikers.

There have been a few flashes in the pan, with the likes of Federico Macheda and James Wilson scoring goals in their first appearance, but in terms of long-term consistency, Mark Hughes is arguably the last -- and he made his debut over 30 years ago.

Danny Welbeck came close, playing almost 100 games for the first team, but Louis van Gaal sold him in 2014 after he became the fourth-choice striker. Some fans questioned that decision, but you only have to go on social media following an Arsenal game to see how frustrated the supporters are with him. He will turn 27 in a few months' time, yet even at 19, Rashford looks the better player.

For the supporters that liked Welbeck, Rashford filled the Welbz-shaped hole in their hearts. For those that didn't, Rashford showed they were right to keep their standards high. Even after just a few months in the first team, it was clear he was a cut above Welbeck and was the player they all had hoped the Arsenal striker would have become.

However, in United's 4-0 win over Swansea, Rashford had the perfect opportunity to show that Jose Mourinho was right to keep starting him ahead of Anthony Martial, but he fluffed it. Similar to when Welbeck was through on goal against Bayern Munich, but opting to try to chip the ball past Manuel Neuer, Rashford dinked the ball into Lukasz Fabianski's arms.

In the summer, Mourinho claimed that Rashford is a "pure attacking player" and could be playing alongside Romelu Lukaku, or up front by himself, but doesn't see him as a No.10.

Last season, Rashford was played out of position to accommodate Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but there was hope he could play more centrally this season, especially following these comments from Mourinho.

He was unlucky against West Ham, seeing one of his attempts come back off the woodwork, but his lack of composure against Swansea might mean he has to wait another year to occupy his favourite position.

A further spanner in the works is Ibrahimovic's return, which will ensure that Rashford is further down in the pecking order. The Swede has made a miraculous recovery from his cruciate and meniscal injury, taking just four months to come back from damage that early reports suggested had ended his career.

For United fans, this is great news. The striker had a positive impact on and off the pitch last season, even if his finishing wasn't as good as they all would have liked. Before the injury, he was in the running for the Golden Boot and went on to finish his season with a very respectable 28 goals in 48 games. That's an impressive return, especially for a 35-year-old playing in England for the first time, but he missed a lot of big opportunities.

By contrast, Romelu Lukaku could hardly have made a better start in front of goal, scoring four times in his first three competitive games for the club, and the presence of Ibrahimovic should only be a positive thing. The competition will keep Lukaku on his toes, and it's clear that the Belgian, who is meticulous in his attempts to improve his game, will be pleased to have a player of Zlatan's ability to learn from.

When Lukaku first signed for the club, he asked Ibrahimovic for permission to wear the No. 9, even though the Swede's contract with the club had expired. The shirt was there for the taking, yet he still thanked Ibrahimovic for letting him wear it .

You would imagine that Lukaku will continue to be the first-choice striker, possibly with Ibrahimovic playing alongside him at times but more likely used in the cup competitions and off the bench in the league.

As for Rashford, he's still only a teenager, and while his breakthrough season showed what a bright future he is likely to have, he might have to be willing to bide his time for a further season.

A few months ago, he talked about how playing out wide was going to help him develop his ability to play centrally by seeing the game from a different perspective. He also talked of the value of learning from a player such as Ibrahimovic who had been there and done it all before.

In the worst-case scenario for him, he will play out wide all season learning from two prolific goal scorers. That's not a bad start to his career and he will surely reap the benefit of that for years to come. But for now, he will likely have to be patient.

Source:
courtesy of ESPNFC

by SCOTT PATTERSON

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