Juan Mata has hailed the emergence of Marcus Rashford, whilst revealing the striker is still “shy in the dressing room”.
Rashford has broken into the United first-team in spectacular fashion, netting seven goals across all competitions.
The Manchester-born player scored twice on his Europa League debut against FC Midtjylland in February, following-up with another brace on his Premier League bow, against fierce rivals Arsenal.
In the top-flight, the England Under-20 international has displayed an outstanding 88% shot accuracy, helping him to retain a place in the starting XI for eight successive games.
Mata has been in the line-up for each of those fixtures too, with the chief creator and leading front-man combining to spearhead the Red Devils’ most successful period of the season thus far.
Indeed, the form of the last two months has helped to alleviate the pressure on manager Louis van Gaal, as has his insistence on blooding young players.
Looking at the inclusion of several new talents, including the likes of Cameron Borthwick-Jackson on Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Mata spoken of his admiration for the academy graduates.
The Spaniard told the Telegraph: “I think it’s great for the club because, first of all the philosophy of the club is to bring in kids from the academy and this season we did great with that.
“They have proved themselves like really good players. Obviously they need consistency but they already great players and managing the pressure and expectations very well.
“Most of them are shy at the beginning. Marcus, for example, is shy in the dressing room but not on the pitch.
“He tries everything, and that’s fantastic to see as a senior player. To see these young players play their own football and give their best for the team, it’s good.”
Mata and Rashford will perhaps face their most difficult task of the season this weekend, as United host champions-elect Leicester City.
A win would see the Foxes clinch the Premier League title, whereas the home side are fighting to leapfrog either Arsenal or Manchester City into the top four.
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