Roy Hodgson says Manchester United youngster Marcus Rashford is a genuine contender to make England's final 23-man squad for Euro 2016 but warned that the youngster will have to edge out a more established rival to earn himself a place at the tournament.
Rashford was a surprise inclusion when Hodgson announced his preliminary 26-man squad for warmup fixtures against Turkey and Australia at Wembley on Monday, seeing off competition from Arsenal's Theo Walcott, Sunderland's Jermain Defoe and West Ham's Andy Carroll.
A first senior England call-up caps a meteoric rise for Rashford, who only made his Manchester United debut in February, but Hodgson is adamant that he would not have picked the 18-year-old if he did not feel that the youngster was capable of seizing a spot in his Euro 2016 squad.
"He's one of the contenders, of course," Hodgson said of Rashford at the news conference at Wembley. "The competition for him is quite strong and he understands that, but I think he deserves to be selected in this larger squad.
"It'll be very interesting to see what he can do this week before I name the final 23, but I'm pleased that someone who's had such an outstanding end to the season [is included]. He's a young player who has obviously got a future if he can continue to develop as he has so far.
"It's great to be able to include him and there's no reason why, if he does exceptionally well, he can't knock someone off their perch. But I must make it clear that will be harder than some people expect because people have played over the last two years and done a good job for us."
Rashford is competing for a place in the final 23-man squad along with fellow forwards Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, Daniel Sturridge and Wayne Rooney.
The form of Kane and Vardy this season in particular has led some to suggest that Rooney should not make the starting XI, while there have been reports that the United player could be moved out to the left.
Hodgson insists he will pick his team purely on merit, saying: "Wayne Rooney is the captain and he's done a fantastic job for England.
"He's got a terrific record and there aren't many players at international level who will reach that level of success. He's been very important to us during the qualifiers and we're very grateful for the goals he scored and the work he did for us.
"In terms of selecting a team [in England's Euro 2016 opener] against Russia, I've got three matches before that. Who knows what's going to happen in those games?
"Wayne Rooney is a very important part of our squad but to my knowledge he certainly isn't demanding to play in the opening game, and I'm under no pressure to select him in the opening game unless I feel he's the best man for the job."
Hodgson expects to finalise his 23-man tournament squad immediately after England's second warmup clash with Australia at the Stadium of Light on May 27, in good time to meet the May 31 submission deadline set by UEFA.
Asked about his hopes for the tournament, Hodgson replied: "The squad this time is younger. There are a lot of players who haven't got an awful lot of international experience, but they've shown over the last games that they're an exciting bunch.
"They're hungry, they're enthusiastic, they're energetic and there's a lot of running in the team. I think all of these things are positives and we can only hope that the faith we have in them is rewarded. The one thing I do know is they won't let anyone down for wont of trying. All we can do is take each game as it comes and see how far it takes us."