The four goals in Rashford's first two games for Manchester United against FC Midtjylland and Arsenal were a charming story that had the whiff of a happy fluke. As his mini-season progressed, however, he slowly demonstrated a range of skills, a subtlety and particularly a temperament that suggest a rare talent.

There’s something about Marcus. What’s even more exciting is that there’s something different about him. There have been better English teenagers – Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney made France 98 and Euro 2004 their own, while Robbie Fowler was irresistible for Liverpool in the mid-90s – but none with such mature, European qualities, or who emerged at such speed.

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Rashford’s dramatic shortcut from Manchester United U18s to the European Championship is the likeliest reason for the relative caution about his long-term potential. If he’s really that good, why had few people outside Old Trafford heard of him before he made his debut? And why was he picked by United as a last resort because of injuries? The majority of England’s most celebrated young players of modern times were hyped long before they played for the first team: Rooney, Owen, Joe Cole, even Ravel Morrison.

At United, Rashford was regarded as promising but certainly not a banker. That invites a certain suspicion, as if there must be a catch, but it is probably misplaced. Players have sudden improvements all the time – N’Golo Kante is an example of that – and Rashford is at the perfect age for such a sporting growth spurt, especially given the bespoke training he has done in the last year or two and his clear ability to learn quickly.

Marcus Rashford celebrates scoring for Manchester United against Aston Villa Image credit: Reuters

The subtle, technical nature of his play also means he is likely to improve as he goes up a level. Whatever the reason, there was no certainly no cocker spaniel moment: when Sir Alex Ferguson first saw Ryan Giggs at 13, "floating over the ground like a cockerspaniel chasing a piece of silver paper in the wind”, he knew that, all things being equal, Giggs would go on to become a great player.

Rashford is more like an album where you find something new with each listen.

Arsene Wenger, Thierry Henry, Anthony Martial and Cesc Fabregas have all commented on his intelligence, and particularly the quality of his movement. He is comfortable receiving the ball in tight areas and looks like he could keep possession in a phone box. Anyone who has played even five-a-side football will know how much tighter the pitch feels when you are on it, yet Rashford sometimes plays like he has access to a bird’s-eye view of the pitch.

The variety of his goals also stands out, especially as he was never really regarded as a great finisher. The brilliant curler at West Ham in the FA Cup might have been a homage to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, when Rashford was one day old. Not even he is that fast a learner.

Rashford is equally effective facing away from goal, with a range of purposeful flicks and backheels - such as the one from which Marouane Fellaini hit the bar in the FA Cup final - and eyes in the back of his head that allow him to roll defenders. He can beat a man with skill or a sharp change of pace, and has a leggy elegance that bears a resemblance to Henry and Marco van Basten.

His overall performance against Wales was the most impressive of the three substitutes, even if Daniel Sturridge and Jamie Vardy rightly stole the headlines for their goals. In 17 minutes, Rashford showed off most of his skills: turns, runs, flicks, dummies. Yet the most impressive thing was his temperament. There was an economy of movement, which suggested he was completely comfortable playing in the European Championship. A carpe diem attitude is a great thing but it has a sibling - unfocused desperation - that can undermine a side chasing an equaliser or a winner, as England showed in the last quarter against Slovakia.

England's Marcus Rashford comes on as a substitute Image credit: Reuters

Rashford did not try to seize the day or the game; he let it come to him, because he knew it would. If his rise has been like a dream, then his performances have been dreamlike, full of a kind of woozy serenity. He has indecent composure for an 18-year-old, a calmness that verges on the eerie and the inscrutability of a poker player, even in an environment that leaves most people emotionally naked. You could drop a marmot in the bath and his heart rate wouldn’t change.

He should start against Iceland tonight for no other reason than the depth of his talent and, at this moment in time, his confidence. He is not an impact sub like Vardy or a highlights player like Sturridge, who is often brilliant and bewildering at the same time. Rashford constantly influences the small details of a match with his intricate all-round play. That is particularly useful against a defensive team like Iceland, whether up front or on the left wing.

For all Rashford’s extraordinary range of skills, there has to be a degree of caution. The seductive infinity of potential is such that projecting a perfect future onto a promising kid can be irresistible. Yet for all those who go on to achieve greatness, there are tens who do not. The list of Golden Ball winners at the U20 World Cup sums up the fragile nature of potential: it includes Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi, Paul Pogba – but also Paulo Silas, Caio Ribeiro and Emilio Peixe. “Whom the gods wish to destroy,” wrote Cyril Connolly, “they first call promising".

There are so many variables – the most important of which, confidence, is the most precarious - that it is dangerous to predict anything. Even at Manchester United, a club synonymous with homegrown talent, there have been many who struggled, to varying degrees, to deliver on early promise: Lee Sharpe, Phil Jones, Terry Cooke, Federico Macheda. Two seasons ago, Adnan Januzaj looked like a potential genius, and then a change of manager changed his life. It would be a surprise if Jose Mourinho did not take to Rashford, but you never know. Many things can get in the way of a youngster fulfilling their potential: luck, injuries, lifestyle, life.

Rashford’s initial burst is only a downpayment. It is contingent on continued improvement, and developing a complete awareness of when to use the many skills at his disposal. It also depends how he responds to his first significant adversity, and whether such an apparently gentle character has the murderous ruthlessness to score 30 goals a season. Yet the signs of mental toughness are strong. When he was substituted at half-time at Spurs, the first minor humiliation of his senior career, he responded three days later with a marvellous all-round performance at West Ham.

For an 18-year-old who did not make his first-team debut until 25 February, the accomplishment – expertise, even - of Rashford’s play is astonishing. There is a world of difference between being a brilliant 18-year-old and a great 25-year-old. But England may just have found a genius.

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