David Beckham sends Marcus Rashford a message of encouragement on signed shirt ahead of new season

Without any doubt, Marcus Rashford was one of the bright points in an otherwise dreary campaign at Old Trafford last season.

Sure, Manchester United finished it with an FA Cup win, but a fifth-placed league finish saw the club miss out on the Champions League and cost Louis van Gaal his job. With Jose Mourinho now in place at the helm, some have questioned whether Rashford will get as many minutes for United as he did since breaking into the team during the final months of 2015/16 - especially with the arrival of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The 18-year-old featured briefly for England during their short-lived stint at Euro 2016 and is now preparing for his first pre-season as a United first-teamer. As he looks ahead to his first full season with the club, one of its former favourites has sent him a special gift. As revealed on Rashford's Instagram, David Beckham has sent him a signed United shirt, complete with a few words of encouragement.

'Good luck and continue working hard and playing with joy and passion,' wrote the former England skipper.

Rashford seemed grateful enough for his gift, writing: 'Nice to be appreciated by one of the best'

Nice to be appreciated by one of the best ??

A photo posted by Marcus Rashford (@marcusrashford) on Jul 11, 2016 at 7:12am PDT