Former Manchester United defender Matteo Darmian believes Marcus Rashford has the credentials to potentially win the Ballon d’Or crown in the future.
The England international is currently enjoying his best-ever scoring season with 19 goals in all competitions and his tally would have been better, had he not sustained a back problem in January.
Rashford will have a key role to play for the Red Devils when the season resumes after the coronavirus shutdown and he could end the campaign with more than 25 goals scored.
Speaking to The Guardian‘s Fabrizio Romano, Darmian heaped praise on the United graduate and talked about the progress made by the forward over the past four years.
“I still remember Marcus Rashford’s first session with the senior squad like it was yesterday. I immediately thought: ‘wow, this is an incredible player’,” He told.
“He did so many impressive things for a player of his age and the way he improved in every detail really impressed me.”
Darmian, now with Parma, added that Rashford can reach the same level as Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe and backed him to win the Ballon d’Or in the long-run.
“If he continues to work the way he has done so far he can be a Ballon d’Or winner. I’m convinced of this,” He continued.
“He impressed me the most of all the players at United and he’s very young and can still improve. For me he can reach the level of Kylian Mbappé and compete for the Ballon d’Or for years to come.”
Rashford has already netted 64 goals from 201 appearances and his goal to game ratio should only improve as he enters the prime phase of his playing career.
Prior to the injury setback, he made the left-wing position his own with a string of consistent performances and it remains to be seen whether he can sustain the form on his comeback.
The 22-year-old has not been prone to sustaining multiple injuries in his short career but manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer needs to protect him and avoid playing him in each and every competition.
The consistent run of games in all competitions contributed to Rashford’s back injury in January.
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