Manchester United's Marcus Rashford has similar ability to Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar and could someday become a "world star," reckons Paul Scholes.

Rashford scored an extra-time winner to send United into the Europa League semifinals over Anderlecht on Thursday night, smartly working himself free in tight space before burying an unstoppable left-footed shot in the 107th minute.

The 19-year-old striker has risen from the ranks of the United youth teams to possibly becoming the focal point of Jose Mourinho's attack with leading scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic facing a lengthy amount of time on the sidelines.

And Scholes, a former Old Trafford midfielder, has backed the England international to do the job.

"Rashford will be a brilliant centre-forward, there is no doubt about that," Scholes told BBC Radio on Friday. "His pace is incredible. He's almost the club's most important player now at the age of 19.

"What we saw against Anderlecht was that raw pace, the excitement, skill and ability to fly past people as if they are not there.

Marcus Rashford scored the winner against Anderlecht on Thursday. Martin Rickett/PA Wire/PA Images

"He probably needs to work on his composure with the chances he is getting, start putting his chances away -- I am sure he will.

"He has always been a centre-forward. When I saw him playing for the young United teams, he was scoring 30-40 goals a season. I know this lad can finish and score goals.

"I am just a little bit worried that he is so quick he may get shoved out wide, which is not a bad thing.

"You look at Cristiano Ronaldo's record and players like Neymar, he has that kind of ability. It is a lot to live up to, but he has that in him -- he can be a world star."