Manchester United Transfer News: Marcus Rashford Reportedly Turned Down by City

Manchester United's newest star Marcus Rashford was previously turned down by Manchester City because he was too short, according to the secretary at his former club.

The 18-year-old striker burst onto the world football scene in spectacular fashion on Thursday night as he scored twice on debut in United's 5-1 UEFA Europa League last-32 drubbing of FC Midtjylland at Old Trafford.

It has now been revealed that he could have been on Manchester City's books but was rejected by the Sky Blues. That's according to Ron Jamieson, club secretary at Fletcher Moss Rangers, where Rashford began his career, per the Times' Paul Hirst:

"

His brother Dwayne was with him when he came to us. He was touting him to Manchester City at the time but the recruitment officer there did not fancy him because he was a bit on the small side and didn’t pick him up.

We took him to the [Champion of Champions] tournament and all the scouts were there. Everton were very keen and Manchester United. It was advantageous for us to push him towards United so he went there and the rest is history.

"

Fletcher Moss—based in Manchester suburb Didsbury—has produced a number of players who have gone on to United's youth setup and senior side, including Danny Welbeck, Cameron Borthwick-Jackson, Tyler Blackett, Zeki Fryers and Ravel Morrison, per Hirst. 

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Initially selected to start on the bench for Thursday's key European second leg, Rashford was promoted to the starting XI by manager Louis van Gaal when Anthony Martial was injured in the pre-match warm-up, per United.

Trailing 2-1 to the Danish minnows after a shock defeat in the first leg, the Red Devils were stunned in the first half at Old Trafford when Pione Sisto's opener looked to be sending them out of the tournament.

Even after Nikolay Bodurov's own goal drew United level on the night, Van Gaal's side still had work to do to book themselves a spot in the last 16.

Cue Rashford, who scored twice in quick succession just after the hour to crucially put United ahead on aggregate, per BT Sport Football:

Goals from Ander Herrera and the excellent Memphis Depay then put the tie to bed, with Rashford having joined an elite group by scoring multiple goals on debut, per BT Sport's Ian Darke:

It was the stuff of dreams for the youngster, and he could now be involved in the huge last-16 clashes against Liverpool coming up next month.

While it is much too early to be making predictions of superstardom for Rashford, he certainly made a statement on debut, and City may just live to regret not picking him up when they had the chance.