Marcus Rashford Says He Wants to Be 'The Ultimate Forward' at Manchester United

Marcus Rashford has said his aim has never been to play exclusively as a No. 9, and he wants to become "the ultimate forward" at Manchester United. 

The Englishman became United's main striker midway through last season after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took over as manager in December, with Romelu Lukaku largely relegated to the bench.

He has played in numerous positions across the front line in the Red Devils' pre-season, and he hopes to continue in that vein when the regular season begins later this month, per Dominic Booth of the Manchester Evening News:

"I've always said that it's never been my aim to be a No. 9. It's about being able to adapt and play in different positions and to be the ultimate forward. I think I can score goals from all positions, and I think that's something that's shared among the forwards. If one person is scoring all the goals you get a different feeling as a team than if all the forwards are contributing. It's definitely a good feeling, and it keeps us all on our toes. That's important."

Rashford, 21, had his most prolific season to date in 2018-19 as he netted 10 goals in the Premier League and provided six assists.

As well as playing through the middle, the United academy graduate can also operate on either flank.

In Anthony Martial and Alexis Sanchez, the Red Devils have two other players who can line up anywhere across the front line, while Jesse Lingard is also very versatile.

And United look to be closing in on the signing of Paulo Dybala from Juventus, with Romelu Lukaku going the other way:

Given Rashford's openness to playing multiple positions, he and Dybala could likely work well together switching between a number of positions as the Argentinian can operate as a No. 9, No. 10 or on the right.

Solskjaer will have an embarrassment of riches to call upon in attack if Dybala does join—United have also signed Daniel James this summer from Swansea City—but the Norwegian will have to find a good system to fit his players into.

Rashford's eagerness to play in multiple positions can only be a good thing for the United manager as he can fit into different systems.

United's opening Premier League game of 2019-20 is against Chelsea on August 11 when it will start to become clear what Solskjaer sees as his most effective attack.