England and Arsenal attacker Danny Wellbeck has backed his team-mates Marcus Rashford to have a major impact at this summer’s World Cup in Russia.
Rashford has had a frustrating season at club level, with the 20-year-old struggling to force himself into Jose Mourinho’s first choice XI on a regular basis.
However, he was superb during England’s recent 2-0 friendly win over Costa Rica, and stole the headlines by smashing home a sensational strike from long distance.
Rashford’s fellow Mancunian Welbeck rates his international team-mate highly, and is backing the talented youngster to shine this summer in Russia:
“Can he ‘do a Michael Owen’? Marcus has the qualities to have an impact on every single game,” Wellbeck said.
“He is 20. He has got a lot of that youthful enthusiasm. On Thursday night he was buzzing all around the pitch.
“I have enjoyed training with Marcus and from playing against him in the Premier League I know the qualities he possesses and [against Costa Rica] he was brilliant.
“He has been free to play. The manager told him to go out there and be free, express yourself. The structure we have got as a team means we all know what we have got to do. So when you are in a certain position you know you have got lots of choices.”
Welbeck has enjoyed a similar career progression to that of Rashford, coming through the famed Manchester United academy, although several years apart:
“Obviously he was a quite a few years younger than me, but his older brother knows my older brother, so I knew about Marcus for a very long time,” he added
“There is a lot players in there who can make an impact in any given moment. A lot of the players are really looking forward to going and seeing what effect they can have.”
