Slaven Bilic urges Marcus Rashford to prove himself at Manchester United

Former West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic believes Marcus Rashford should stay put at Manchester United and prove himself rather than pursuing a fresh challenge elsewhere. The England international has been linked with a potential exit from Old Trafford in recent months after receiving limited gametime under Jose Mourinho.

Speaking to BBC Sport, Bilic stressed that Rashford has played more games than most younger players at the same age and he should concentrate on getting better than pondering over an exit, he said: "We had a small talk about whether he should leave Manchester United. And I said 'no way, you are not leaving United at that age and you are playing.' He doesn't start every game, but he has been involved in every competition – maybe he even played too many games. He is playing under Mourinho for the biggest clubs in the world – why would you leave? Prove yourself there."

Rashford had a good beginning to the 2017/18 season where he competed with Anthony Martial regularly on the left side of the defence. However, as the season passed, Martial became more in favour with manager Jose Mourinho before the mid-season arrival of Alexis Sanchez displaced both of them from the starting line-up.

Regardless of this, he has been valued highly at both club and country and he is presently with the England national side at the World Cup. Rashford only made a substitute appearance during the recent 2-1 win over Tunisia but they are suggestions that he could start from the off against Panama on Saturday.

Raheem Sterling came for criticism after a relatively poor showing in the opening group stage game and it will be interesting to see whether Southgate will stick with Manchester City attacker versus Panama. Aside from Sterling, Dele Alli could also miss the game against Tunisia as he has yet to make a recovery from a minor thigh strain. Ruben Loftus-Cheek has been tipped to replace him in midfield.