Shaw: Rashford has turned into a man

Marcus has enjoyed his best scoring campaign to date for the Reds and bagged 19 in 31 appearances prior to picking up an injury in January.

The striker has earned a huge amount of plaudits, both for his great form in the first half of the season and his charitable work off the pitch during the COVID-19 pandemic and, during a recent fan Q&A, Luke was asked if he could one day see our no.10 winning the Ballon d’Or…

“Yeah, for sure,” Luke said in response to the question from @UtdBence. “He’s improved greatly from when he first came on the scene, not just on the pitch, but off the pitch as well. 

“He’s matured so much. He’s really turned into a man and I think everyone’s seen the way he’s conducted himself off the pitch; especially during this pandemic, he’s been unbelievable.

“He’s a massive example to everyone. He’s matured so much and a lot of credit for that goes to him and also to his family, who have kept him very grounded.”

At just 22, Marcus certainly has time to keep improving and, after coming through the Reds’ youth system, Luke knows the man from Wythenshawe is showing United’s current crop of youngsters that anything is possible.

“He’s a big inspiration for a lot of young people, especially the ones who are coming through from Manchester,” said Shaw. 

“In Marcus, they’ve got someone to look up to not just on the pitch but off it too, which is really nice to see. As a player, he’s improved so much but he always wants to learn, always wants to get better and, to me, he’s getting better every time I see him play.”

“He’s looked unstoppable at times this season and he’s looked so confident. I haven’t seen that in him before. He was always confident, but not to this level, and he’s matured so much.

“He knows he has the ability to be one of the best and he’s pushing himself all the time to maximise that. There’s no reason why, if he keeps going, keeps pushing himself, that he can’t win it one day.”