LONDON: England manager Roy Hodgson said Marcus Rashford could follow the example of Dele Alli after naming the 18-year-old Manchester United striker in his provisional Euro 2016 squad on Monday.
Rashford only made his senior United debut in February, but having scored seven goals in his first 16 appearances, he now has an outside chance of making Hodgson’s final squad for the tournament in France.
Alli, 20, was playing third-tier football for Milton Keynes Dons last season, but the Tottenham Hotspur starlet is now a potential England starter, convincing Hodgson of the value of selection gambles.
Asked if it might be a case of ‘too much, too soon’ for Rashford, Hodgson replied: “We’ll see. That’s always a danger, I suppose. The alternative of course is that because you’re fearful of that danger, you don’t select those types of players.
“If I’d have been that fearful of selecting players, I’d have missed out on quite a few good ones. I’m thinking in particular of Dele Alli, but I think that would apply also to people like Danny Rose and (Eric) Dier and Jamie Vardy.
“If you remember, Jamie Vardy now is on everybody’s lips, but he wasn’t a year ago in June when I selected him. Then he was a major surprise.”
Hodgson was speaking to journalists at Wembley after unveiling his provisional 26-man squad, which must be reduced to 23 by the end of the month.
