Manchester United eye £3.6m Valencia starlet Fran Villalba... who was given his debut by Gary Neville and has been likened to David Silva

• Gary Neville gave 18-year-old his debut during brief spell at Valencia
• Fran Villalba has a £3.6m buy-out clause and was once target for Liverpool
• Manchester United and Barcelona are interested in the youngster  
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  Manchester United are showing an interest in Valencia's young midfielder Fran Villalba.
  The 18-year-old, who has a buyout clause set at £3.6million, made his debut in December last year under the stewardship of Gary Neville having being introduced to the reserves as a 16-year-old.
  However, he has been left out of the struggling Spanish side's first team this season and Barcelona and United, among others, are taking keen interest in his situation.
  

  
  

  

  
  

  Manchester United and Barcelona have expressed an interest in Valencia's Fran Villalba

  Valencia rejected an approach from Liverpool in 2014 for Villalba who has been compared in style to former Valencia favourite Manchester City midfielder David Silva.

  Meanwhile, United youngster Marcus Rashford has praised the positive influence Zlatan Ibrahimovic has had on him since the former Swedish icon's arrival in the summer.

  Rashford believes he has already learned from the hugely experienced striker, who has won 31 trophies during his career at clubs such as Barcelona, Juventus, AC Milan and Ajax, and thinks his fellow younger team-mates are also benefiting.

  'It has been amazing,' the 18-year-old Rashford, currently on international duty with England's senior squad, told Inside United magazine.

  

  Old Trafford legend Gary Neville gave Villalba his debut during his brief spell at Valencia

  

  
  

  Villalba has been compared to Spain and Manchester City idol David Silva (right)

  'We've got a lot of world-class players in the team, especially in the forwards like Zlatan and Wayne (Rooney).

  'For the young lads we can't ask for anything better. The likes of me, Anthony (Martial) and Jesse (Lingard) - watching these forwards play and how they train, their mentality, is so important.

  'You can't ask for more. Zlatan is very easy to speak to and he's easy to get along with.

  

  Marcus Rashford has been impressed with the impact of Zlatan Ibrahimovic at Old Trafford

  
  

  FRAN VILLALBA FACTFILE 

  DOB: 11/05/1998 (18 years-old)

  Club: Valencia

  Height: 1.68m

  Nationality: Spainish

  Position: Central midfield

  In team since: 01/07/2015

  Contract ends: 30/06/2021

  Buy out clause: £3.6m