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Five best football debuts as Marcus Rashford hits hat-trick for England Under-21s

| 12.09.2016
SPORTSBOOK ODDS

Robbie Purves | September 7, 2016

Marcus Rashford continued his unbelievable year by hitting a hat-trick on his England Under-21s debut. This follows a remarkable run of maiden games, netting on his Premier League, Europa League and senior Three Lions bows.

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The 18-year-old has now given both England boss Sam Allardyce and new Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho food for thought, after consistently impressing when he takes to the field.

In light of this, Coral writers have picked out the five best football debuts, including another United striker…

Wayne Rooney (Man Utd)

In 2004, Sir Alex Ferguson forked out £25.6m for an 18-year-old Rooney, the highest figure ever paid for a teenager at the time.

Many raised their eyebrows at the fee, but the former Everton man silenced the doubters with an amazing debut. Rooney hit a hat-trick and provided an assist in a 6-2 Champions League triumph against Fenerbahce – becoming the youngest player to score three in the competition.

This bodes well for United’s Europa League campaign, as their main Group A opponents are the Turkish team – the Red Devils are favourites to claim the trophy at 6/1 with Coral.

The current England and United captain has gone on to lift five Premier League titles and a Champions League in Manchester.

Jimmy Greaves (Chelsea, England, AC Milan, Tottenham, West Ham United)

London Jimmy Greaves

If there was anything almost certain in football, Greaves scoring on his debut was one.

After netting as a 17-year-old on his debut for Chelsea, the prolific marksman repeated the feat on his first England appearance against Peru in Lima, before moving the AC Milan.

Unsurprisingly, he found the net one his maiden game at the San Siro against Brazilian outfit Botafogo. On his return to England, Greaves hit a hat-trick in his first start for Tottenham and again scored at the first time of asking, striking twice for West Ham.

Alan Shearer (Southampton, England, Blackburn Rovers)

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Coral’s official brand ambassador Shearer is the Premier League’s all-time leading scorer and boasts a superb debut record throughout his illustrious career.

Hitting a hat-trick on his first full Southampton start, the youngest player to score three so in the top-flight at 17 years old, breaking Greaves’ 30-year reign.

Shearer’s performances resulted in a Three Lions call-up, like Rashford he marked the occasion by scoring. The lethal finisher was at it again following his £3.3m move to Blackburn, finding the net twice against Crystal Palace.

Jermain Defoe (West Ham, Tottenham, Portsmouth, Toronto)

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Sunderland striker Defoe has a fantastic record when it comes to permanent club debuts, netting on every debut except at his current employers.

The 33-year-old striker likes to make an impact at a new side and throughout his career has become a fans favourite by scoring on his maiden appearances.

Defoe’s first game and goal for the Hammers came in a cup game against Walsall, then found the net in a 4-3 win for Spurs, an equaliser for Portsmouth and most recently by bagging a brace with Canadian MLS team Toronto.

The Black Cats have just one point in three games and are 6/4 to be relegated this term.

Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)

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Argentina marksman Aguero was part of the early spending under the Sheikh Mansour era of the Sky Blues and made an immediate impact.

Coming on as a substitute just before the hour mark, Aguero scored his first goal within nine minutes of taking to the field.

With the Manchester derby impending, City’s all-time Premier League leading scorer will be a huge miss considering his excellent record against United – netting eight in nine, one coming on his derby debut.

Another derby debut scorer is Rashford, and he will be eligible to play on Saturday. With Zlatan Ibrahimovic likely to start ahead of the teenager, Rashford odds are great value to net last by coming off the bench at 13/2.

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Author

Robbie Purves