The 6 Man Utd youngsters who made their debut in the same season as Marcus Rashford
Marcus Rashford has been one of Manchester United’s standout players since making his debut back in February 2016 – but what has become of the other United youngsters who made their bow in the same season?
Rashford netted twice in a Europa League thrashing of FC Midtjylland and has scored 138 goals for United in the eight years since his first appearance for the club.
We’ve looked back at every United youngster who also made their debut in 2015-16 and how they fared at the club.
Joe Riley
Louis van Gaal’s time as Manchester United winner was marred by a succession of injuries, forcing him to turn to the club’s academy products to fill the gaps.
Riley started the 5-1 win over Midtjylland, with his only other appearance for United coming as a substitute against Shrewsbury just a few days before.
An injury ended a loan spell at Sheffield United and the defender spent two years at Bradford City and Carlisle United respectively before joining Walsall in 2022.
Riley is no longer playing in the Football League after leaving Walsall last summer and is currently with AFC Fylde in the National League.
Timothy Fosu-Mensah
Fosu-Mensah was hailed as the next big thing after making his first-team breakthrough under Van Gaal in 2015-16.
Loan spells at Crystal Palace and Fulham saw the Dutchman earn crucial Premier League experience, but an anterior cruciate ligament injury stalled his progress.
“Who doesn’t want to play for United? So, yeah, I’m definitely eager to come back and to do well and to help the team and to give my all, my heart for this great club,” Fosu-Mensah told the Independent in April 2020.
Unfortunately for him, that proved impossible and he moved to Bayer Leverkusen in January 2021.
His time in Germany was marred by a succession of injuries and, after leaving Leverkusen in the summer of 2024, Fosu-Mensah is now without a club.
Donald Love
Love’s record as a United player does not make for happy reading: two appearances against Sunderland and Midtjylland, two defeats, one booking, one admittedly very good name.
David Moyes took the defender to Sunderland in 2016, but he struggled to establish himself at the Stadium of Light as the Black Cats suffered back-to-back relegations.
He’s had spells at Shrewsbury Town, Salford City and Morecambe in the years since before joining his current club, Accrington Stanley, in the summer of 2024.
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Regan Poole
Poole made his only appearance for United as a late substitute in the big victory over Midtjylland which marked Marcus Rashford’s breakthrough.
The defender has revealed the likes of Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard and Rashford took him under their wing at the club, telling the BBC: “They know it takes time. I get a bit ahead of myself sometimes and they tell me ‘take your time’ and ‘slow down.’”
After being released by the club in 2019, Poole signed for Milton Keynes Dons on a free transfer, where he stayed for 18 months before joining League One side Lincoln City in January 2021.
After 15 months at Sincil Bank, Poole joined Portsmouth and helped the club earn promotion to the Championship in 2023-24. He is currently battling to keep Pompey in the second tier.
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Cameron Borthwick-Jackson
After making 14 first-team appearances in 2015-16, Borthwick-Jackson was rewarded with a new long-term contract, but the left-back’s career has stalled since then.
Loan spells at Wolves and Leeds United were both terminated early amid questions about his attitude and Borthwick-Jackson joined Oldham Athletic on loan in January 2020.
After his United contract expired at the end of the 2019-20 season, he returned to Oldham on a permanent deal but joined Burton Albion a year later.
His career has since taken in spells in Poland with Slask Wroclaw and Scotland at Ross County, but the 27-year-old currently finds himself unattached.
James Weir
A 95th-minute substitute appearance against Arsenal in February 2016 was all Weir mustered in a United shirt, and a subsequent move to Hull City was derailed by terrible misfortune with injuries.
The midfielder joined Bolton in 2019 but his contract was terminated in January 2020, and he then signed for Pohronie in Slovakia.
He scored eight goals in 39 appearances during his time in Slovakia and then joined Hungarian top-flight side MTK Budapest in May 2021.
After a year out injured, Weir returned to Slovakia with ViOn Zlate Moravce but announced his retirement in February 2024. He now works as a travel agent.