Marcus Rashford is one of the Premier League's most exciting young players, yet there are worrying blockades to his development at Old Trafford.

On the one hand, only Romelu Lukaku has made more appearances for Manchester United in all competitions this season; on the other, that's translated to just the tenth-most minutes on the pitch of any Red Devils player - less than Lukaku, Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata, three attackers the youngster is essentially competing with for a place in the starting XI.

Then there's Anthony Martial and Alexis Sanchez, two players who are older than Rashford and cost the club money to bring to Old Trafford.

Albeit still aged just 20, it feels like Rashford has reached something of a crossroads. While he could bide his time with United and remain patient with his development, he would probably be in the starting XI every week at most other Premier League clubs. So, what's the best scenario for Rashford as an individual, rather than United as a club?

Football FanCast lay out three suggested solutions...

Solution A - Stay at United

For all the concern over Rashford's limited involvement, particularly since the turn of 2018, he's still made phenomenal progress at first-team level for a 20-year-old and is probably much further along the development curve than he expected when Louis van Gaal gave him an emergency debut in the Europa League three years ago.

Likewise, Jose Mourinho is clearly fond of the youngster - the Portuguese has never been the type to give chances to young players just for the sake of it - so although game-time has dried up of late, it appears the England international is still in his manager's long-term plans.

Lingard too, is testament to how young players can still come good if they wait patiently for opportunities and are given games at the right time. There's also the Michael Owen argument - why exactly should Rashford be playing regular football at such a tender age, when it could eventually bring a premature end to his career?

Marcus Rashford in training

Solution B - Leave United this summer

There will be almost countless takers for Rashford should he decide to leave the club this summer, as recently suggested by Jamie Redknapp, and Paul Pogba has shown that talented youngsters are more than capable of forging careers for themselves at other major clubs even if they can't get game-time with the Red Devils.

Any club outside the Big Six would find room for Rashford in their starting XI each week and the youngster has already proved what a handful he can be at this level, in terms of both direct dribbling from the left flank and scoring goals as the central striker.

While training with the very best around is important, there's nothing quite like getting minutes on the pitch - and even if Rashford does have to drop down a level this summer, maybe joining a club like West Ham or Everton, provided he maintains the level of potency we've already seen from him, he'll surely return to the top end of the Premier League sooner rather than later.

In that regard, he can take inspiration from Lukaku; unloved at Chelsea, he moved to Goodison Park and scored the goals to earn a massive switch to United.

Solution C - Go out on loan

It's the compromise everybody seems to have overlooked amid all the talk about Rashford leaving his boyhood club this summer. Going out on loan has been a common tactic to get young players game time for decades now, but there appears to be an assumption that Rashford too good to be loaned.

Yet, it actually makes perfect sense; if Rashford is as good playing week-in, week-out as most United fans think he will be, then proving it elsewhere is probably the best chance he has to dislodge the likes of Lukaku and Sanchez from the starting XI on a permanent basis. At Old Trafford next season, he'll still only get the odd cameo outings here and there - not enough to really show he's as dependable as those team-mates.

Once again, clubs will be queuing up to sign Rashford on loan if he's made available, and choosing the right club to loan him out to could help United's Premier League campaign as well. A club like Everton, for example, could take plenty of points off United's divisional rivals with the England attacker - who Transfermarkt value at £45million - leading the line.

So what's the best solution for Rashford as an individual, rather than United as a club? Let us know by voting below...

[ad_pod ]