Last summer, England manager Gareth Southgate sat down with Marcus Rashford and explained that his immediate role for his country would be different to what he had grown used to. It was a polite way of saying Rashford wouldn’t be playing.
Rashford was hurt but took it well because he is that kind of bigger-picture bloke. Nevertheless, it was a telling moment in his career, a sign that the world of football was moving and that he wasn’t moving fast enough to keep up with it.
Rashford, the Manchester United forward, is not 25 until October so he is not yet at his peak years.