Thomas Tuchel must be brave and name Marcus Rashford in his first England squad – 12 months after his last call-up.
That’s the view of ex-Chelsea defender Jason Cundy, who believes the 27-year-old is getting back to his best at Aston Villa.
Having been frozen out of the Manchester United team by Ruben Amorim, Rashford left his boyhood club in January to join the Villans on loan.
He has proven to be an instant hit – chipping in with four assists from nine outings in all competitions.
And speaking on The Sports Bar, Cundy insisted Rashford is making his case for an England call-up as Tuchel prepares to name his squad on Friday ahead of the World Cup qualifiers with Albania and Latvia later this month.
The versatile forward hasn’t featured for the Three Lions since the 1-0 friendly defeat to Brazil in March 2024 and has been omitted from every squad since.
But he has shown signs that he’s close to returning to his best, with the two-time FA Cup winner dazzling in Villa’s 3-0 Champions League last-16 second leg win over Club Brugge on Wednesday night.
Pressed by co-host Jamie O’Hara on whether Tuchel should include Rashford in the England squad, Cundy said: “I think it has to be on his mind.
“Whether it’s enough, whether he has seen enough right now…
“If he puts him in the squad, it’s not going to be based on what he has seen in a Villa shirt.
“It’s going to be based on what we know he can do, and for the last 18 months hasn’t done, yet the last six weeks, he has done.
“I don’t know, I think sometimes you’ve got to be brave, he [Tuchel] might want to wait until the summer.
“There are two games in June [vs Andorra and Senegal], he might want to wait and see what more can come.
“Because in those wide areas, [Ethan] Nwaneri from Arsenal if [Bukayo] Saka is out – it’s an area that actually we’ve got a lot of players that can play on that left-hand side, in those wide areas.
“You can only have so many players in the squad, but if he turns up in the squad, I wouldn’t be unhappy about it, I wouldn’t be disappointed.
“I want to see the very best version of Rashford in an England shirt, and in an England shirt, when he turns up, he’s a formidable character.”
Reflecting on what is the reason for Rashford’s upturn in form, Cundy remarked: “Maybe a change in scenery, a fresh face, a fresh dressing room – things had gone stale for both player and club.
“The move had to be made, there was too much water that hadn’t travelled under that bridge – it was stagnating.
“There were things wrong for him and the club, and I think it was right, a parting of the ways at that particular time.
“I think that relationship – as a lot of relationships – run their course, and there was a time to split and to move on for both parties.
“We know there is a player in Rashford, we know that, we haven’t seen enough of it.
“And maybe we’re looking at Unai Emery as now the manager that gets a better tune out of him to reignite that talent that we have seen for so many years that’s been in either a Manchester United shirt or an England shirt.”
Rashford, who hasn’t scored since December 1, will next get his chance to find the back of the net at club level on March 30 against Preston in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
Villa are not in action this weekend, as scheduled Premier League opponents Liverpool are in action against Newcastle in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final.
