Jose Mourinho does not want Marcus Rashford to be selected for next year's European U-21 Championships if the Manchester United striker is a regular in the senior England squad
Marcus Rashford
Marcus Rashford
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Manchester: Jose Mourinho does not want Marcus Rashford to be selected for next year's European U-21 Championships if the Manchester United striker is a regular in the senior England squad.
The United manager was responding to questions ahead of their Europa League encounter against Fenerbahce today.
England's governing Football Association were keen to include Premier League stars, such as Rashford, in their U-21 squad for the tournament in Poland in June. Mourinho has no problem with Rashford, who turns 19 on the last day of this month, being a part of that squad — but only if he has not established himself in the senior set-up. "We are in mid-October, the Championships will be in the summer," United manager Mourinho said yesterday.
"I think we have to wait and see what happens until then. Because if the player becomes a regular in the 'A' national team, if you want to call it that, then to say it is important for his development (to be) with the U-21s, makes no sense.
"If he's an U-21 player in the national team, then he is an U-21 player and there is no discussion about that," said Mourinho of Rashford. "But if he becomes a regular choice for Gareth Southgate in the first team, then we have to speak because we don't want him going," Mourinho added.