Wayne Rooney believes that Marcus Rashford is reaping the rewards after focusing on his football - just as he was advised to do by OIe Gunnar Solskjaer last year.
Rashford endured a rotten 2021/22 campaign and struggled to nail down a regular spot in the Manchester United first-team following Solskjaer's dismissal in November. The 25-year-old also lost his place in the England team and looked highly unlikely to make the cut for England's World Cup squad.
But after his U-turn in form under Erik ten Hag, Rashford muscled his way into Gareth Southgate's squad and is currently the joint top-scorer in Qatar after plundering three goals in as many games for the Three Lions.
After impressing off the bench in England's World Cup opener, Rashford has staked a serious claim to start Sunday's last 16 clash against Senegal after putting Wales to the sword with a brilliant brace earlier this week.
Starting such a significant game would cap a remarkable turnaround for Rashford, who has earned plenty of plaudits for the sterling charity work he has done off the pitch over the past couple of years.
But Rooney is adamant that the United academy graduate's return to form is down to the fact he has been able to focus on his game rather than other things.
Speaking in The Times, Rooney said: "It looks like Marcus is in a much better place in his head and the big thing, for me, is that during Covid he did so much campaigning work and got involved with a lot of stuff off the pitch.
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"His achievements were incredible, but I think it might have been a bit too much for him. Rather than being able to just focus on his football, there was a lot on his plate, whereas what we've seen this season is very much a focus on football first rather than anything else. From some of the goals he has scored, you can see he is in a different headspace."
Rooney's comments are strikingly similar to the ones made by Solskjaer before his Manchester United exit last year. Speaking ahead of Rashford's return to the team following shoulder surgery, the Norwegian commended the impact Rashford had made away from the pitch but urged the striker to knuckle down on it.
"I know we'll see the best of Marcus in the years to come," Solskjaer said last October. "He's done remarkable things at a young age and he's now coming into his best age for a footballer.
"He's learning. He's getting more and more experience. He's had time to reflect on what he's done off the pitch as well because he's done some fantastic things. Now maybe [It's time to] prioritise his football and focus on football."
Rashford is one of a number of players at Old Trafford to have benefited from the opportunity of a fresh start under Ten Hag, who has deployed him as a No.9.
Regardless of whether or not Solskjaer and Rooney had a point over Rashford's off-field activities, it appears as though the striker's ex-boss was bang on the money when he predicted that the best was still to come from the Manchester United academy graduate.
