Ole Gunnar was quick to pile the praise on Marcus Rashford after the striker’s matchwinning contribution at Newcastle – but admits he can’t guarantee the striker will always be Manchester United’s preferred central striker.
Second-half goals from substitute Romelu Lukaku, who scored with his first touch after Magpies keeper Martin Dubravka spilled Rashford’s free-kick, and then Rashford himself were enough to take the points in a 2-0 win at St James’ Park.
And while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has thrown his hat into the ring to take the manager’s job on a permanent basis this summer, the Norwegian was quick to pile the plaudits on Rashford for his key role in the win.
If the win on Tyneside was rather more prosaic than what had gone before, Solskjaer was able to revel in the individual performance of England striker Rashford, who has shone in the key role he has handed him.
Ole's a fan of Rashford's 'Cristiano' style tekkers…#MUFC pic.twitter.com/KBbisRgKo6
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) January 3, 2019
The Norwegian said: “He gets kicked and he gets tackled, he goes for headers, he wins, he challenges, he runs – he is going to be a top, top number nine, definitely.
“But then again, we’ve got Rom [Lukaku], so sometimes he’ll play on the right, sometimes on the left, sometimes through the middle. He’ll get enough games.”