Marcus Rashford has played himself back into England's squad with his form for Barcelona but the on-loan Manchester United star faces competition for a starting place
Marcus Rashford has been turning heads during his loan stint at Barcelona but ex-Barca ace Gary Lineker fears the England star might find it tough to reclaim his starting spot from the in-form Raphinha. Rashford, who moved to Barca on a season-long loan from Manchester United with an option for a permanent deal in the summer, only saw 32 minutes of action across two SuperCopa matches in Saudi Arabia as Hansi Flick's side won the trophy.
Rashford was brought on for the last 25 minutes of the semi-final victory over Athletic Club with his team already leading 5-0. Raphinha, starting in Rashford's favoured spot on the left, contributed two goals and an assist before adding another brace in the final triumph over Real Madrid - a game in which Rashford was only handed seven minutes by manager Flick.
The German boss' use of Rashford in recent weeks may well feel like a statement on where he sees Rashford in the hierarchy. There's still a place for the Englishman in the squad but perhaps not in the manager's strongest XI.
"Marcus Rashford, he didn't come on until quite late on," Lineker said on The Rest is Football. "I did see a thing from the club saying they're very pleased with the way Marcus has settled in. I know he didn't get much of a look in in the Super Cup... [and] he came on just after half-time in the other game in the Super Cup against Athletic.
"With Raphinha in that sort of form, it's going to be difficult for him to play too much football. But then, as we saw in the first half of the season, Lamine Yamal was injured for a spell, [Robert] Lewandowski was injured for a spell, Raphinha was injured for a spell. They can see that he's doing really well and apparently they want to see if they can negotiate with Manchester United."
Fellow presenter Alex Aljoe suggested Rashford wouldn't make it into Barcelona's strongest line-up for the big matches, at least on current form. However, both she and Gary Lineker believe the forward will still have a role to play as manager Flick makes full use of his squad.
"There's no real drop-off particularly with the players that they've got, particularly in those front positions," Lineker said. "So I think he'll (Rashford) play plenty of football and he seems really happy there."
This season, Rashford has contributed seven goals and 11 assists in 28 appearances at a rate of one goal involvement for every 95 minutes on the pitch. His standout performances include a brace in a Champions League victory over Newcastle United and two goals plus an assist as Barca ran riot against 10-man Olympiacos.
After a run of substitute outings around the turn of the year, the England star was included in Flick's starting XI for the Copa del Rey round of 16 match against Racing Santander. The Catalan club secured a 2-0 win thanks to goals from Ferran Torres and Lamine Yamal, while rivals Real Madrid suffered a surprise defeat against second-tier Albacete.
Rashford's performances at Barcelona have also caught the attention of England manager Thomas Tuchel. The forward was part of the Three Lions' camp for the September, October and November international breaks, scoring in a 5-0 victory in Serbia and assisting one of Harry Kane's two goals in a 2-0 win away to Albania.
"He can be one of the best in the world because of the quality I see in training, the finishing with both legs and with the head," Tuchel said of Rashford in October. "He is explosive, he is fast, he is strong in the air, so where are the limits?".
"There are no limits - but the numbers don't reach the potential. He needs to push himself into goal involvements, that means goals and assists, it is as easy as that."