The argument for - Adam Drury

This debate revolves around fatigue. 

Considering that several of England’s eligible under-21 players were at Euro 2016 last summer, and will be in Russia next summer, plenty could do with a sustained period of time off.

When Harry Kane was selected for the 2015 U-21 championships, he had played the fourth-highest number of minutes of all players aged 23 or younger in the Premier League that previous season.

He then topped the same list in the 2015/16 campaign.

With virtually no break, he was clearly affected by mental fatigue come Euro 2016, where he capitulated.

This season, Euro-2016 participants Dele Alli, Eric Dier and Raheem Sterling have played over 2,000 minutes of Premier League action, all among the 20 highest in the division for their age bracket.

They must not be lumbered like Kane this summer.

Marcus Rashford, though, is in a very different position.

He has played only just more than half the number of league minutes that Alli and Dier have got through, regularly appearing from the bench and, even then, used wide.

The 19-year-old is not the main for club or country, either, so should not have suffered from the mental fatigue that Kane clearly did at the same stage.

He plays second fiddle to Zlatan Ibrahimovic at Manchester United, never exclusively relied upon, and rarely burdened.

Considering that he is down the pecking order in terms of England strikers, the potential for future weariness is further reduced.

He has also contributed to the U-21s in this campaign, scoring a hat-trick on debut last September.

England must capitalise on the fact that Rashford has not been thrust into key-player status immediately, unlike Wayne Rooney, Sterling and Kane.

He has the opportunity to further maximise his experience as his performances do not need to be excellent consistently.

The next step should be another tournament, relatively under the radar, so that when he inevitably is the main man, he is as prepared as possible. 

The argument against - Tom Bowles

Should Marcus Rashford represent England in this summer’s Under-21 Championship in Poland, he would be able to play in his favoured position up front.

That would be the one and only positive.

Now for the negatives.

Barring a three-week break between Euro 2016 and flying to China for Manchester United’s pre-season tour, by the end of this season Rashford will have played non-stop for 18 months.

That’s a lot of football for a 19-year-old.

There is a misconception that he has found games hard to come by this season. Not true.

Rashford has played 45 times for club and country – a total which, taking into account United and England’s forthcoming fixtures, will reach 60 providing he remains fit.

Sure, lots of them have been substitute appearances, but Rashford has still been in every single squad, travelled to every match and prepared as if he was going to be involved.

And, as Sunday’s thrilling 30-minute cameo against Lithuania proved, he also plays with an intensity and purpose that exceeds most other players.

A proper rest, then, would enable Rashford to rest a body that is still growing.

It would also enable him to prepare for the 2017/18 season – imperative, given that Zlatan Ibrahimovic is likely to sign a one-year extension at Old Trafford and will be joined by at least one more elite striker.

Rashford will also need to be fresh for when the World Cup in Russia rolls around in the summer of 2018.

Because, make no mistake, that’s where he will be.

Apart from one Under-21 appearance against Norway in September – when he showed himself to be above the standard by scoring a hat-trick – Rashford has played exclusively for the seniors.

He has appeared in five of their last seven fixtures, which, incidentally, is two more than Raheem Sterling has managed.

Sterling, like Rashford, is eligible to be selected by Aidy Boothroyd this summer. So, too, are John Stones, Eric Dier and Dele Alli.

All of those players were part of Roy Hodgson’s disastrous Euros party, and would get just as much out of "experiencing tournament football” – the vague, go-to phrase that always comes up when these arguments occur – as Rashford.

To make this exclusively about him, then, is not only puzzling, it also undermines how important he already is to his country.

Rashford is a remarkable talent who needs looking after.

What would you do with Marcus Rashford this summer? Let us know on Facebook, Twitter or in the comments section below and we will continue the debate.