Former striker Andy Cole claims Marcus Rashford and Casemiro “would not make it into” the famous Man Utd Treble-winning side of 1999.
The Red Devils won the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in an extraordinary 1998-99 season with that side going down in history as one of the best to play for Man Utd.
Erik ten Hag is building the foundations of another good team, which is a long way from the finished article, with Rashford – who has scored 24 goals in all competitions this season – and Casemiro particularly standing out.
But Cole has explained why neither of the current Man Utd pair would be able to get into the successful 1999 Red Devils starting XI.
“I agree with Dwight Yorke, Marcus Rashford on current form would not make it into the treble starting XI and maybe the bench, ” Cole told Best Sports Betting Canada.
“In front of Ryan Giggs or David Beckham? Even in this sparkling form, unfortunately not. If you took out Giggs or Beckham, then Rashford would probably get into the team, but our team had so much quality. Rashford would definitely not make it into the treble team.
“Casemiro would not make it in front of Roy Keane, Paul Scholes or Nicky Butt. Casemiro is a fantastic player, but would I play him in front of Keane or Scholes? No. He would make the bench.
“He’s made a massive improvement to Manchester United since he’s joined and I really like the player.”
Man Utd host Barcelona on Thursday in the second leg of their Europa League play-off with the Red Devils drawing 2-2 in the first leg at the Camp Nou.
And former Man Utd defender Paul Parker reckons Ten Hag’s side are “favourites” to beat La Liga leaders Barcelona and go through to the next round.
Parker told Bettors: “I really do consider Man United to be the favourites against Barcelona because they are not in the best place compared to where they were a few years ago.
“But I wouldn’t consider it to be a massive failure if they are being knocked out by Barcelona. They are a huge club with an amazing history.
“But people want to watch entertaining football, so if Man United are not entertaining the crowd at Old Trafford, they would be disappointed. But if Man United are playing at a high tempo, trying to score goals but lose at the end, the fans will accept it.”
READ MORE: Chelsea bottom and Manchester United top in the latest Premier League Mood Rankings
