Gareth Southgate and Jose Mourinho on collision course over Man Utd ace Marcus Rashford

JOSE MOURINHO is on a collision course with Gareth Southgate over England sensation Marcus Rashford.

Posted Wednesday, October 04, 2017 by Dailystar.co.uk

Marcus Rashford on England duty

Mourinho is keen for his Manchester United ace not to be involved in both of England's final World Cup qualifiers.

The Three Lions face Slovenia at Wembley tomorrow night before travelling to Lithuania for their last Group F game on Sunday.

A win for Southgate's men against Slovenia would book their place at Russia next summer and render the trip to Vilnius irrelevant.

And Starsport understands Mourinho would like to see Rashford rested for the game in Lithuania if qualification has already been secured.

United face a crunch Premier League showdown with Liverpool at Anfield a week on Saturday and Mourinho wants Southgate to show some common sense by going easy on the teenager.

Mourinho is desperate for Rashford to avoid getting injured and wants him as fresh as possible for United's clash with their bitter rivals.

The 19-year-old has made an impressive start to the season with six goals for club and country.

He is rapidly becoming a key player for both sides and it remains to be seen if Southgate caves in to Mourinho's wishes.

In May Southgate insisted he hadn't been bullied by Mourinho into leaving him out of the England Under-21 squad for the European Championship in Poland.

Mourinho was desperate for Rashford to miss the tournament after insisting the teenager was too good for it.

The United boss was also keen on Rashford being available for the whole of his club's pre-season tour of America and wanted him to have a break.

Southgate made sure Rashford didn't go to Poland and named him in the senior squad for the games against Scotland and France instead.

But the Three Lions boss claimed Mourinho had no influence on the decision and that he makes choices that are best for the players - and not clubs like United.

He said at the time: "I am not in a position where I can make decisions to keep people happy.

"I'm not going to achieve that. If I am trying to keep Jose happy then that's going to be, let's say fairly difficult.

"So I have got to make decisions that are right for England seniors long term.

"I think that his (Rashford's) relationship with England is key. So we want a good working relationship with the clubs, of course we do.

"But they have got their own objectives and have got to make decisions that are right for them, and I have got to make decisions that are right for England."