'I've coached Marcus Rashford - I'm not surprised by what is happening at Barcelona'

Marcus Rashford has made an impact at Barcelona since joining them on loan from Manchester United in the summer but an ex-England coach is not surprised

Joleon Lescott says he isn't surprised by the impact Marcus Rashford is having at Barcelona. The on-loan Manchester United star departed for Spain this summer.

Having fallen out of favour under Ruben Amorim, Rashford initially moved to Aston Villa temporarily in January before heading out on another loan to Barcelona in July.

Since joining the Catalan giants, Rashford has enjoyed plenty of minutes. Hansi Flick trusted the 28-year-old out left in the absence of Raphinha and he has also been deployed as a striker. Rashford has scored seven goals and grabbed 11 assists in all competitions so far this season.

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Though his game time may decrease with Brazilian star Raphinha back from injury, Rashford has proven to be a valuable member of Flick's squad. But Lescott, who worked with Rashford for England, is not surprised by how the United forward is performing.

"I'm not surprised by what he's doing over there," said Lescott, speaking on In The Mixer, brought to you by Sky Bet. "I believe Marcus Rashford makes a good team better. I don't think he makes ok teams better.

"Because the emphasis on him at Man United was that he had to do everything. I don't think he had that in his game. Whereas I think if he's in a good team and you want him to do certain things, he can do them. Then that team will be a lot better with him."

Former Manchester City defender Lescott even admitted that when it became apparent Rashford's time with United was up, he was hopeful his old team would pounce to secure the services of the Englishman.

"When there was speculation, and it wasn't a lot, about him maybe coming to Manchester City, I would've wanted to sign him that day. I would've signed him," added Lescott.

"I doubt he would've gone, but he definitely would've made City better. You look at what he's doing at Barcelona. They have Raphinha. And Raphinha was sensational last year and they haven't got any worse when Rashford is in there. He's obviously a top top player."

Rashford dropped to the bench during Barcelona's latest win at Villarreal, but head coach Flick has already outlined exactly what the 28-year-old gives him.

"I try to speak to every player when they are not selected. The last time I checked with him he said, 'Boss, you don't have to tell me about your decisions. The most important thing is the team. We have to win the three points. The rest is not that important,'" said Flick.

"This is the perfect mentality. I am so happy to have him. When he is on the bench, he shows that we have a good and deep squad. What I can say is that he is an absolutely professional player. In the beginning, he had to adapt a little bit, but now he is at his best level."

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