Zlatan Ibrahimovic has admitted that he has been impressed by what he has seen from Manchester United teammate Marcus Rashford, but believes that the youngster needs more time to fully develop.
The England international has burst onto the scene since being given his chance to impress in a Europa League tie last February, following up his debut brace with seven more goals for club and country.
Rashford has found playing time harder to come by at the start of this season, however, being given just over an hour on the field so far - including the entire second half against Manchester City on Saturday afternoon.
While many have called for Rashford to start more often, particularly after the 18-year-old bagged a hat-trick on his England Under-21s bow last week, Ibrahimovic is confident that boss Jose Mourinho is taking the correct approach.
"First of all, he's 18, he's still young. He has a lot of time," the Swedish star told MUTV. "I think the way you have to approach a player like that, where everyone is talking about the talent and what he's able to do and what kind of potential he has, is to remember he still has a lot of time.
"It's not like he needs to take over the world today, the club knows that, the coach knows that and the team knows that. We know his quality and what he's able to do. What the world is seeing now, we already know because we see it every day.
"There is no need to rush to push him and put him in the heat zone and put a lot of pressure on him because that can have the opposite effect. Time by time, he will take over everything. It's about having patience."
Ibrahimovic was on target again for United in their 2-1 home loss to rivals City, with club chiefs now reportedly hoping to tie him down to a longer-term deal.
Daniel Lewis
