Juventus Reportedly Monitoring Manchester United Striker Marcus Rashford

Juventus are reportedly interested in Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford and have put him on their list of transfer targets. 

According to The Times' Paul Joyce, the Bianconeri are "compiling a dossier" on the Englishman and have conducted "discreet checks on the player's background and character."

The Serie A side have seemingly been impressed with what they've found, as they are said to consider him among their potential targets.

The 21-year-old burst onto the scene at Old Trafford during the 2015-16 campaign, and he has since made 136 appearances for the Red Devils, scoring 34 goals and producing 18 assists.

He has played a lot of football for United in a short space of time:

The youngster has also had 31 outings for England's senior side, scoring six times for his country.

What has been less beneficial for his development is that he has been forced to spend much of his time under manager Jose Mourinho playing on the flanks rather than through the middle because of deficiencies in United's squad.

He's not the finished article yet, either. As impressive as he has been for United, it has become apparent he needs to be more clinical in front of goal.

Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News and football writer Liam Canning are among those to point out he is lacking a ruthless streak this season:

Nevertheless, he's an exciting prospect who could go on to great things. 

Football commentator Ian Darke enjoyed his performance in England's 2-1 win over Croatia on Sunday as he showed off his pace to cause the opposition problems:

Finishing can be instinctive for some players, but there's no reason Rashford can't improve that aspect of his play given time and practice, and if he can add a clinical edge to his game he could be a potent weapon up front. 

Juventus splashed out on Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer, but he will be 34 in February, and Mario Mandzukic will be 33 by the end of the season.

The pair may well be able to grant them short-term success, but it comes of little surprise that Juventus looking at young players who could take them forward in the long term.

Rashford would be a strong buy for the Bianconeri, but United aren't likely to consider letting him leave.

Given the game time he enjoys at Old Trafford, he'll likely be happy to stay, too, even if Juventus can offer a better chance of silverware.