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

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)

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)

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)

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)

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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