Man Utd already have a mega-money England player

If you are a Manchester United fan then England’s World Cup campaign will be of particular intrigue.

While supporters will look on at Elliot Anderson and dream of signing him ahead of Manchester City, they will also have a vested interest in how Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo get on.

There’s no Harry Maguire, but perhaps Thomas Tuchel could have done with him in their first group game against Croatia.

In defence they were nervy and cagey. Yet, in attack, the Three Lions looked as good as they have ever done. Long gone are the days of Gareth Southgate’s pragmatic football. This was exciting, it was brave, it was new.

Tuchel’s men ran out 4-2 winners with a few key headlines already emerging.

The negatives for England

Speaking at the conclusion of the game, Tuchel made reference to the number of duels his side won in either half.

In the first 45 minutes they only won 30% of their duels. In the second that rose to 70%. Whatever the German said at the break it worked a treat.

That performance after half-time was so exciting and it was a joy to watch England playing with so much freedom. That said, there were issues.

In that first period, they did not get their press right. They did not win enough duels and they were all at sea defensively. John Stones’ lack of match sharpness was exposed for the first goal when he went to ground too easily while Jordan Pickford will not have been pleased to see Martin Baturina’s strike burst through his hand. Ezri Konsa was also caught out by chipped pass into Ivan Perisic for Petar Musa’s goal.

In midfield they were also lacking a bit. Declan Rice clearly wasn’t at full fitness, withdrawn in the second half, something Tuchel admitted after the game he would never usually do.

As for Elliot Anderson, he also struggled a bit on his World Cup debut. Is this a £120m player? That’s the price Manchester City are going to have go beyond to sign the midfielder.

On this evidence, it was a lesson that he is still young, he is still raw. That fee is justified based on his Premier League displays but playing up a level for England on Wednesday night, it showed he still has things to work on. Alongside Rice, both of them struggled to control the game.

The positives for England

The attack. What a performance going forward this was. Four goals against a side who are no mugs.

Harry Kane bagged twice, including a lovely header from a Rice corner. Set-pieces are all the range now, didn’t you know?

What will have pleased Tuchel was the performance of those behind Kane, perhaps Anthony Gordon aside. He had just nine touches in the first half and it was no surprise to see Marcus Rashford replace him. More on him in a moment.

Noni Madueke’s inclusion in the squad caused a stir but with Bukayo Saka fighting to prove his fitness, he looks like a more than capable understudy.

Sure, the Arsenal winger’s end product is lacking somewhat but he cause Croatia all sorts of problems, winning the penalty in the first half and playing a vital part in the build-up to Jude Bellingham’s goal.

Bellingham has had his own critics in an England shirt of late but he starred against the Croats. He was everything, not just scoring but his work rate was also off the charts.

The performance of the subs, Rashford and Saka was also impressive. While Madueke did impress, the level of quality that his Arsenal teammate possesses was evident when he came on.

England’s number 7 was phenomenal in the build-up the fourth goal. He turned his man on the right byline and then after a bit of luck, the ball broke to him inside Croatia’s half. He then played an excellent ball into the path of Rashford who cut inside and found the net.

For Rashford, this has been quite the season. Perhaps United already have a £100m player on their books? He made a bigger impact than Anderson on Wednesday, that’s for sure. He made a bigger impact than Gordon too, a player recently sold for £70m to Barcelona.

This summer, it feels inevitable that the Carrington academy graduate will leave Old Trafford behind and he could do so for as little as £26m. Barca had him on loan last season and he dazzled en route to winning LaLiga, scoring 14 goals and assisting 14 in 49 outings.

That was the form of a big-money winger. He has showcased himself to be a big-money winger in the past. Not long ago he bagged 30 goals in one campaign for the Red Devils.

Direct, lively, aggressive and most important of all, clinical, this World Cup is set to showcase why United should have no business selling such a vibrant talent. This week, it was he who looked like the mega-money superstar, like the player who belongs on the international stage. Anderson, by comparison, looked a bit nervy and shaky.