Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Says Marcus Rashford Can Match Harry Kane's Level of Play

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes an improved Marcus Rashford can eventually match the level of play produced by Tottenham Hotspur's prolific striker Harry Kane.

Manchester United caretaker boss Solskjaer spoke ahead of the Red Devils' match against Kane and Spurs at Wembley Stadium in the Premier League on Sunday. He identified the key areas where Rashford has taken strides in his game, per BBC Sport's Simon Stone:

Solskjaer's confident claim regarding Rashford's potential speaks volumes about the latter's improved standing since the Norwegian replaced Jose Mourinho in the United dugout.

Rashford was often used by Mourinho, who was fired in mid-December. However, the England international would frequently appear off the bench and struggled to put regular starts together.

Rashford was also shunted out wide more than once by Mourinho, who signed both Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Romelu Lukaku to be the focal point in attack. Mourinho even questioned Rashford's temperament and quality.

He told Univision (h/t Metro's Chris Davie) in November that Rashford was one of three United players "lacking maturity." Mourinho also appeared to chide Rashford and fellow forward Anthony Martial after a 1-0 defeat away to Brighton & Hove Albion in May, hinting their failure to score was why he "always" started Lukaku.

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The inconsistent messages from his previous manager, along with changes in positions, meant Rashford's development had stalled somewhat after he emerged on the scene as a prolific academy graduate in 2016.

Solskjaer has taken a different approach with the 21-year-old. He's started Rashford in the last four league games, playing him ahead of big-money signing Lukaku at centre-forward for wins over Cardiff City, Huddersfield Town, Bournemouth and Newcastle United.

Lukaku returned in the starting 11 for the 2-0 win over Reading at Old Trafford in the FA Cup third round. Yet it's significant that Rashford is getting the nod for league games, especially when he's being played through the middle.

Rashford won't reach Kane's level unless he plays the same position. His chances of staying in the role will be boosted by Solskjaer's admission that Rashford can hold the ball up.

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The power to boss defences in the air and play with his back to goal is one of the main benefits to starting Lukaku. Rashford is slighter, but he appears to be growing into the requirements of a traditional centre-forward.

His next step toward matching Kane, who has scored 25 or more league goals in each of the last three seasons, will be to improve as a finisher. Rashford isn't as efficient as he might be, sometimes making a mess of the one-on-one opportunities ruthless strikers like Kane put away without fuss.

Kane has 14 Premier League goals to his credit this season, compared to Rashford's six. However, four of those six have come during Rashford's recent starts, proof he's improving with greater playing time.

Rashford's willingness to take on shots against Newcastle showed an increased appetite for goal:

Solskjaer's readiness to make one of United's homegrown players central to his team adheres to the core ideals of the club. A desire to get talented youngsters more involved was one reason behind the change of manager.

In Rashford's case, it already appears to be paying off, even if he still has a long way to go to match Kane's consistency finding the net.