Louis Van Gaal sees a lot of potential in Marcus Rashford and believes his growth curve is similar to other youngsters who have made it big in football when he was in charge. Van Gaal has coached some of the biggest clubs across Europe including Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
Rashford is only 18 years but he seems to have adapted to life well in the Premier League. The striker has scored in all the big matches United have played so far and has done equally well in the other games too.
Van Gaal cited the importance of a youth policy as a manager. “A good manager should always try to have a mix of young and experienced players in his selection.”
The Dutchman has promoted several youth players this season either due to injury or necessity to his regular squad players. Camron Borthwick-Jackson, Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Jesse Lingaard are the ones who have profited from his philosophy
The 64-year-old insists that he has been following this practice in all clubs he’s managed “I believe in young players, and at all my clubs I have given them a chance, even when I started out at AZ Alkmaar.”
Van Gaal compared Rashford’s displays to that of youngsters who went on to become greats in other clubs he’s managed. “Then I went to Ajax and Kluivert, 18 years old, gave the same sort of performances as we are seeing from Rashford. I can give a lot of other examples of the same thing. Müller at Bayern, Xavi and Iniesta at Barcelona. Age is not the issue, quality is more important.”
Rashford has a lot to learn: Van Gaal
But Van Gaal is also wary of the fact that the teenager has a long way to go before he completely realises his potential. “He is not yet ready and he knows that; he can still learn a lot. It is always a risk when you promote young players to the first team because it is such a step up. As a manager you always need guts to put youngsters in the squad. “
He gave credit to his staff members for recruiting the good young players in the squad“ Of course the Manchester United scouts and academy coaches deserve a lot of credit for finding these boys and preparing them; compared to the hours they put in my part is only a little one. But that part is still very important because you need the guts to do it.”
