Harry Redknapp Talks Marcus Rashford, Adnan Januzaj, Manchester United and More

Harry Redknapp is concerned Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford might be under threat of "doing an Adnan Januzaj" should the Red Devils bring in a new top-class forward over the summer.

The 18-year-old Rashford has burst onto the scene in spectacular fashion under manager Louis van Gaal in the second half of the 2015-16 season, netting eight goals in all competitions in 17 appearances and earning a call-up to Roy Hodgson's provisional England squad for UEFA Euro 2016, per WhoScored.com.

However, former Tottenham Hotspur manager Redknapp has warned in the Evening Standard of Rashford befalling the same plight as Belgian Januzaj, who emerged brilliantly under David Moyes in 2013-14 only to fall drastically down the pecking order:

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Look at [Januzaj]. He looked like the greatest player we had seen for years when he first came in. Everyone thought he was a genius and United fans were baying for him to get a new contract to stop the risk of losing him for nothing. The club gave him a huge five-year deal, meanwhile every nation he was conceivably eligible to play for scrambled to get him. The FA were desperate to get him to play for England.

Then, suddenly United spend nearly £60 million on Angel Di Maria and Januzaj dies a death. He’s out of the team, confidence drains away and they end up shipping him out on loan to Borussia Dortmund, whose coaches call him lazy and disinterested. A change of manager, with people talking about Jose Mourinho coming in, could complicate things even more for Rashford just like [van Gaal] replacing [Moyes] did for Januzaj.

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Rashford scored a double on his debut in February against Midtjylland in the UEFA Europa League and netted two more in his second match against Arsenal.

He was given his opportunity because of an Anthony Martial injury in the warm-up to the Midtjylland clash, and his immediate contribution earned him more appearances.

The Manchester-born forward has continued to impress and will likely play a big role in United's FA Cup final against Crystal Palace on Sunday.

Rashford's performance against Bournemouth on Tuesday in United's final game of the Premier League season—in which he scored and played a key role in a 3-1 win—drew yet more praise for his obvious talent, per ESPN's Alex Shaw:

However, Redknapp's concern is that his progress could be stunted if his opportunities are restricted next season when United bring in a big-money striker, a necessity for the Manchester outfit "given how they have struggled for goals this season."

Van Gaal's side netted only 49 goals in their 2015-16 Premier League campaign and were overreliant on the the youthful likes of Rashford, Martial and Jesse Lingard.

There is little doubt they need some more experience in attack—especially as Wayne Rooney has dropped into a deeper role—and Bleacher Report's Dean Jones believes there is a decent chance of Zlatan Ibrahimovic arriving at Old Trafford over the summer:

The Swede's signing would undoubtedly restrict Rashford's playing time. Meanwhile, former Chelsea boss Mourinho also has a bad history of developing youth, an argument that has widely been used against the possibility of United appointing the Portuguese as Van Gaal's successor, per Sam Wallace in the Telegraph.

However, United's fans will likely demand Rashford is played next season, such has been his excellence in the second half of the season.

And the previous criticism of Mourinho has been that he gives few opportunities to unproven players. If nothing else, Rashford has already proved that he can perform against the best in the Premier League and will himself demand selection no matter who else arrives.