Author: Daniel Sherry
Following the announcement of the latest announcement of the England World Cup squad yesterday afternoon, there was a lot of conversation around the exclusion of Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford.
So much so that he posted on Twitter to say that he was injured, and that he had picked up an ‘untimely injury’, meaning he is not ready for the pre-World Cup England squad selection.
Only Gareth Southgate himself knows if the Manchester United star would have been selected if he was fully fit. However, the stats of Marcus Rashford this year definitely suggest that he should be back playing for England at the World Cup.
Premier League stats 2022/23 – Marcus Rashford and selected England forwards
Rashford has scored three goals and has two assists in the first six Premier League matches this season. He has contributed a goal every 105 minutes. Ivan Toney, who has been called up to the England squad for the first time, is the only player with a better goals contribution per minutes played than Rashford, showing why his call-up was fully deserved.
Player | Team | Goals | Assists | Goal Involvements | Mins Played | Mins Per Goal Involvement |
Toney | Brentford | 5 | 2 | 7 | 540 | 77 |
Rashford | Man Utd | 3 | 2 | 5 | 523 | 105 |
Kane | Tottenham | 5 | 0 | 5 | 528 | 106 |
Harrison | Leeds | 1 | 3 | 4 | 465 | 116 |
Wilson | Newcastle | 2 | 0 | 2 | 245 | 123 |
Sterling | Chelsea | 3 | 1 | 4 | 517 | 129 |
Maddison | Leicester | 2 | 1 | 3 | 450 | 150 |
Foden | Man City | 1 | 2 | 3 | 458 | 153 |
Dasilva | Brentford | 2 | 0 | 2 | 309 | 155 |
Watkins | Aston Villa | 1 | 2 | 3 | 474 | 158 |
The stats from BritishGambler.co.uk look at all English attacking options and their early season performance in the Premier League, specifically their goal contributions per minute.
Rashford’s electric start to the season means he even has a better goal involvement per minute than England captain Harry Kane, suggesting that the Manchester United forward should definitely be on the plane to Qatar for the World Cup.
Leeds United winger Jack Harrison and Newcastle United striker Callum Wilson have both made a strong start to the season, and might consider themselves to both be unlucky not to be selected for international duty this time.
Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka, meanwhile, has scored once and has two assists to his name. That means he is involved in a goal every 177 minutes. Neither West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen nor Manchester City’s Jack Grealish have contributed an assist or a goal in the Premier League so far this season. However, both remain in Gareth Southgate’s England squad.
Featured Image Credit: Getty