Sam Allardyce pleads with Jose Mourinho to keep new England striker Marcus Rashford as a Manchester United regular
Three Lions boss hails teenager's special talent - and opens the door for Andros Townsend and Luke Shaw to earn recalls
SAM ALLARDYCE has urged Jose Mourinho to keep playing starlet Marcus Rashford.
England’s boss wants the 18-year-old whizkid in his squad and turning out regularly for Manchester United next season.
And Big Sam reckons the teenager will be undroppable if he shows the form of the second half of the last campaign.
Allardyce said: “He’s a talent. If he sees that talent emerge like it did last year, he picks himself.
“I hope he continues to play. It will just be down to himself.”
United chief Mourinho has bought Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic to bolster his forward line and vowed to play Wayne Rooney as an attacker.
Anthony Martial, 20, will also compete for a place — but Allardyce sees Rashford as a special talent.
The 61-year-old said: “It’s not easy to put those youngsters in when you’re a Premier League manager, because of the cost of failure now.
“But when you get somebody emerging like that, it’s encouraging to think that talent is lurking.
“What can you do to allow that talent through? You see most of the England players would have been loaned out early in their careers, or started in the lower leagues.
“We have lost the emergency loan system which we have to fall into line with Uefa, sadly.
“We’ve seen all these Manchester United youngsters. All those youngsters aren’t having any first-team experience.
“We are blocking the way for our youngsters to develop.
“We’re looking at a player coming into the Premier League at 22, 23 now.
“If you didn’t make it at 18 when I was coming through, then you were gone.”
Allardyce’s first match in charge is a tricky World Cup qualifier away to Slovakia on September 4 and he is planning to shake it up.
He is ready to recall United’s young left-back Luke Shaw, 21, and Crystal Palace 25-year-old winger Andros Townsend.
Big Sam will also offer Three Lions players a clean slate and will consider them if they are playing regular Premier League football.
Allardyce said: “You have Shaw coming back from injury at Manchester United.
“He seems to have coped with the move before his unfortunate injury.
“You’ve got Townsend, who looked like a world-beater a couple of years ago, who has got himself back playing regular Premier League football. Could he re-emerge?
“That is just one or two who may make a breakthrough, there are lots of others as well.
“The difficult task for me is the first squad, not because of what happened at the Euros but what condition will the players be in.
“They are going to be revisiting their teams — wherever they might be — across the world.
“They have had a short break, linking up with their teams, coming back and the start of the Premier League is August 13.
“September is only six weeks down the road.
“And hopefully they are all fit and ready to go when that comes around.”
Rooney, 30, is expected to keep the armband and be given the chance to add to his 53 goals in Allardyce’s first squad.
He said: “Wayne had been playing central midfield for Manchester United for the last ten games. “I didn’t think he did too badly. Personally, I thought he was good.
“What I’d say about Wayne is that he’s a vastly-experienced player now and he’s great at scoring goals.
“We lost that opportunity for a goalscorer to have scored more goals.
“But before the tournament that didn’t look like it would be a problem, did it?
“We had looked like a free-scoring international team both in the qualifiers and the friendlies, then we dried up.”
But Allardyce warned reputations count for nothing and no-one’s place is guaranteed.
He said: “If a player has a loss of form or loses his place at his club, even if he’s been an England regular, he’s not going to be an automatic selection for the national side.
“This is because I would be doing myself harm and it doesn’t do the player any favours.
“If they’re in good form and they’re playing great, and they make the selection process very difficult, then I’m very happy about that.
“I’m very happy if they all challenge me and say: ‘Why are you not picking me? Look at the form I’m in. Why don’t you give me a chance?’
“So the door’s open for everybody.”
The Three Lions boss is finalising his backroom staff, with Sammy Lee one of his assistants.
Bayern Munich have blocked a move for Paul Clement on a part-time basis so Allardyce is looking at his options.
Southend boss Phil Brown, his old sidekick from Bolton, has been linked with a role but an appointment is unlikely.
Allardyce, who will consider a mid-season get-together, confirmed he spoke to Sir Alex Ferguson before taking the job.
And he joked that he did a jig of joy in his car when the FA technical director Dan Ashworth called him to offer the job. He said: “It involved some dancing.”
Now the serious moves will be made ahead of his first match in charge.