Former Manchester United striker Andy Cole has urged Marcus Rashford to stay put at Old Trafford, amid interest from Real Madrid and Barcelona.

In a recent interview, Manchester United legend Andy Cole has told star striker Marcus Rashford to not seek a move away from the club, as he has the right atmosphere at Old Trafford to flourish and grow into a superstar as reported by The Sun.

Rashford, since bursting on to the scenes in the 2015-16 campaign under Louis van Gaal, has grown into one of the most important players for Manchester United. Just at the age of 21 years, the academy graduate has gone on to accumulate 161 appearances, scoring 44 goals and setting up 26 more.

The England international, after a slow start to the season, has come into his own ever since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took over the reins from Jose Mourinho in December. So far in the ongoing campaign, Rashford has found the back of the net on 12 occasions, while laying on 9 assists from 38 matches in all competitions.

Rashford’s rapid rise to prominence hasn’t gone unnoticed as a number of clubs across Europe are taking an interest in the striker, with La Liga heavyweights Real Madrid and Barcelona leading the way. However, Cole has insisted that the 21-year-old shouldn’t have his head turned by the interest, as he has the perfect platform to thrive at Manchester United under Solskjaer.

“The platform is there for Marcus to thrive at United and play at the very top. He’s scoring goals and playing like a centre-forward should while he can also play off the left or right. He looks like he is enjoying his football and he’s playing under no pressure,” the former Red Devils superstar, who was part of the treble-winning side in 1999, said.

Rashford has the perfect platform to flourish at Manchester United insists Andy Cole (Photo by Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images)
Rashford has the perfect platform to flourish at Manchester United insists Andy Cole (Photo by Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images)

“Everybody has started with a clean slate since Ole has taken over. Marcus, Anthony Martial, Romelu Lukaku, they are all playing with more confidence, like the shackles have been taken off and they can go and express themselves.”

As Cole has said, Rashford has looked completely revitalised and full of confidence since Solskjaer has been brought in. And now that the Norwegian has been appointed as the manager on a permanent basis, the academy graduate has the perfect opportunity to grow into the superstar that Manchester United fans hope he can be.

However, the 20-time English champions must look to get his contract situation sorted at the earliest possible juncture. Rashford will be entering the final year of his current deal with Manchester United. While the club do have the option to extend it by a further 12 months, they would still be exposed to overtures from interested parties; hence, getting him tied up to a new deal should be a top priority for the Red Devils.

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