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Former Manchester United striker Louis Saha believes Marcus Rashford needs to be given 'ideal conditions' to thrive like Neymar, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford (Image: GETTY)
"At 23, he’s already almost the oldest in the squad, one of the leaders. He’s one of the best strikers in Europe.
"When he’s in the middle, he’s unplayable. His coaches need to put him in ideal conditions, as is the case with Neymar, Messi or Ronaldo."
Saha's comments come after former England and Newcastle striker Alan Shearer advised Rashford and Mason Greenwood to learn from Edinson Cavani after the Uruguayan's match-winning brace against Southampton on Sunday.
"They had Rashford and Greenwood there in the first half and they may end up being centre forwards but that’s exactly what they lacked is a proper number nine," said Shearer on Match of the Day 2.
Man Utd duo Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood (Image: GETTY)
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"They had no width, they didn’t have a focal point and that all changed when Cavani came on. It was far too easy for Southampton and we were struggling to work out what sort of system Man United were playing.
"They had no width on the right-hand side and everything was going through the middle and that was so easy for Southampton to contain and they handled it with ease.
"Look at what changes in the second half, They have a guy (Cavani) who is intelligent enough, never static. He is on the move in the box and they get crosses in there.
"He gave them some width also, when he got out there he didn’t disappoint.
"But what impressed me most is the intelligence and the hunger, he attacks the space. Just look at the number of bodies he actually runs past to get on the end of the ball (for his first goal).
"Rashford and Greenwood need to keep working with him because they will learn from him.
"The Southampton defenders can’t keep up with him. He made the difference, he won the game for Man United. He was absolutely fantastic."