Manchester United star Marcus Rashford has stated that he wants to emulate Wayne Rooney after dreaming of doing so as a child.
Rashford's meteoric rise over the last 12 months has been nothing short of sensational and the 19-year-old is now likely to spearhead the England attack during the upcoming international fixtures against Germany and Lithuania.
The United wonderkid has gone on to speak about his aspirations of representing England when he was a child and has explained that current teammate Rooney was his inspiration growing up.
Rashford told the Players' Tribune: “My first England shirt.
“I flipped it over to see if it had a number on the back. (That was always a big deal.)
“9.
“And just above that…ROONEY.
“I was too young to appreciate the England teams of the 90s - guys like Alan Shearer, Teddy Sheringham - so for me, it was all about Rooney.
“My earliest memories of the England team are of him and Michael Owen up front together. Me and my brothers, Dwaine and Dane, would always sit down to watch the England games together.
“And then, when I was about eight years old my uncle gave me that Rooney kit. As every kid does, when you're having a kickabout and you've got someone's name on your back, you just try to follow in their footsteps.
“I was a striker, so from that day, I wanted to be just like Rooney. And I wanted to play for England. In our imaginations, we were Rooney, or Owen, or Rio playing at Wembley for England. [On my debut] there was another moment I'll never forget. All of a sudden I was sharing the pitch with Rooney for England.
“I'm even on the pitch when he scores our second goal. I'm not out on the green, or watching England on telly. I'm right next to him. That was special."