When Manchester United were struck by yet another injury, they looked to their youth to fill the gaps – and up stepped young Marcus Rashford, who has gone from under-21’s football to having a ticket for the plane to France in just four months. Remarkable.

At the age of 18, and with all of the media hype centred around his steep rise, the best thing the England forward could do is remain grounded, and focussed.

“At Christmas, I was trying to work my way into United’s Under-21s side,” he said whilst speaking about his career.

“To be here now is just amazing. It doesn’t seem real, when you look back at it.”

Two goals on his debut against FC Midtjylland were followed up by a double in the Premier League against Arsenal, as Rashford quickly rose to United fame.

It could have been very different though, as Crewe’s first-team coach James Collins admitted to the press that his club had indeed tried to bring Rashford in on loan when he was just beginning to make his under-21s appearances. Sadly for the Railwaymen, who eventually were relegated from Sky Bet League One, their bid was rebuffed as they were told the youngster was needed for more under-21 fixtures.

“I spoke to (United U21 coach) Warren Joyce earlier in the season about taking him on loan for us.

“Warren said we couldn’t because they needed him for their U21s. A week later he made his debut for the first team and the rest is history.” Collins revealed.

The 18-year-old scored after just three minutes on his England debut, as he helped his side on their way to a 2-1 victory over Australia. He admits that he is still surprised at his inclusion into the England spot for this months Euro 2016 Championship.

“When I first went into the England changing room and saw all of the players’ names on the back of their shirts, it didn’t seem real.

“I tried not to think about it too much because that’s probably where the pressure and stuff starts to get to people’s heads and affect their performance.” He concluded.

England begin their Euro 2016 campaign on Saturday when they face Russia in Marseille, before the intriguing clash against Wales the following Thursday, and the conclusion of the group stages in St Etienne, as the England side look to see off Slovakia.