Gareth Southgate 'Not Certain' Marcus Rashford Is at His Best at No. 9

Marcus Rashford plays better as a "wide raider" rather than as a No. 9, according to England manager Gareth Southgate. 

Rashford started England's 4-0 victory over Bulgaria on Saturday on the left of a front three, with Harry Kane as the central striker and Raheem Sterling on the right.

Kane netted a hat-trick and Sterling scored the other at Wembley Stadium as England won their third game from three in Group A of UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying:

For Manchester United this season, Rashford has alternated between playing on the left flank and in the No. 9 role, regularly switching positions with Anthony Martial during matches.

Southgate has said the 21-year-old plays better in a wider role than through the middle leading the attack, per The Independent's Miguel Delaney:

"We've for a long time almost wanted Marcus to be that option as a nine. I'm still not certain that that is where he is happiest and where he does his best work.

"A lot of his development at United was as a ‘wide raider,' and I think he isn't as strong as Harry with his back to goal and holding play up, so if he plays as a nine, he will play it differently to Harry. But a lot of his best work is in that inside-left channel coming in off the line.

"I don't think that's a problem, we just have to be aware that that's probably his profile to get the best out of him, they're the areas on the pitch that he needs to get in."

Rashford has added responsibility to score goals for United in 2019-20 following the departure of Romelu Lukaku to Inter Milan.

He and Martial, 23, are now Solskjaer's key marksmen despite the fact that neither of them are typical strikers:

Rashford's best return for a Premier League season came last term when he scored 10, while Martial's best goalscoring season in the English top flight is the 11 he got in 2015-16.

They have already scored four between them in United's opening four games of the 2019-20 campaign, and they must continue that kind of form throughout the season if the Red Devils are to have any chance of returning to the top four. 

England are back in action against Kosovo on Tuesday before the Premier League restarts again.

After beating Chelsea 4-0 on the opening day of the season, United have not won since, and they will be desperate to get another three points on the board when they face Leicester City at Old Trafford on Saturday.