Juan Mata reveals Ander Herrera predicted Marcus Rashford would become a ‘special’ player at Manchester United after first training session

Ander Herrera predicted Marcus Rashford’s rise to stardom (Picture: Getty)

Manchester United star Juan Mata has revealed how it took one training session for Marcus Rashford to convince former team-mate Ander Herrera that the striker was set for stardom at Old Trafford.

Rashford burst onto the scene in 2016 when an Louis van Gaal was forced to call on the teenager to bulk up his injury-ravaged squad.

The 18-year-old was named as a substitute in United’s Europa League clash to face Midtjylland but injury to Anthony Martial in the warm-up meant the teenager was thrown in from the start.

He grasped the opportunity with both hands by scoring twice against the Danish side on his full debut and followed that up 72 hours later by scoring another brace on his Premier League debut against Arsenal.

Rashford scored twice on his Europa and Premier League debuts (Picture: Getty)

Rashford grasped his opportunity with both hands (Picture: Getty)

Rashford is now a mainstay in the United side and few could have foreseen just how far the striker’s come in four years.

But Mata has revealed that Herrera was ahead of the curve when it came to predicting Rashford’s rise, as he told his compatriot that the striker was ‘special’ after his first training session with the first team.

Asked who the best player he’s seen to emerge from United’s academy, Mata retold the story of Rashford’s rise: ‘Obviously the first one who comes to my mind is Marcus, Marcus Rashford.

‘Everyone knows that he is a special player and I have to admit that in the first training that he did with us in the first team, it was Louis van Gaal that was our manager, and after the training, we did a little game and he was playing on the right side, and, after everything finished, Ander Herrera came to me and said: ‘Do you see this player? How good he is? He will be a player for us.’

‘He realised straightaway. After one training session, Ander knew that this guy was something special and obviously ,of course after that, he was very determined since the first moment he played with us, scoring very quickly, many goals and, of course, for his country als.

‘I think he is probably the most special player that has come through in my time here, through the Academy’.

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