Ryan Giggs concerned for Marcus Rashford development

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 02 September 2017

Ryan Giggs compares Marcus Rashford to Thierry Henry, but suggests that he needs to play in his favoured centre-forward position more often for club and country.

Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs has insisted that a lack of opportunities playing through the middle "could be a problem" for Marcus Rashford.

The England international made an impressive breakthrough at Old Trafford in the 2015-16 campaign when given a chance to shine up top, scoring eight goals in 18 outings.

Rashford has since had to largely make do with appearances in wide positions to accommodate the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Romelu Lukaku, however, which Giggs believes may hamper his development over time.

Speaking during half time of England's eventual 4-0 win over Malta on Friday evening, the 43-year-old told ITV Sport: "Yeah, that could be a problem for him. Like you say, he's not going to play centre-forward of United too often with Lukaku, Ibrahimovic as well.

"For England with [Harry] Kane, he's not going to play centre-forward. He can definitely play out wide, but eventually he's going to be a No 9. I see similarities with Thierry Henry myself, he's brilliant off the left.

"Even if he's playing centre-forward, he drifts off to the left where you can take players on either side. But then, if he's not played centre-forward a lot and all of a sudden Kane gets injured and you ask him to play up front, he can do it."

Rashford has been used four times for United in all competitions this season, finding the net with a key opening goal against Leicester City prior to the international break.