Marcus Rashford has been accused of damaging Mason Greenwood's development by denying him a run in the Manchester United starting XI.
Rashford, 24, has started both of United's Premier League fixtures since Ralf Rangnick's appointment while Greenwood, 20, had to settle for appearances off the bench against Crystal Palace and Norwich.
The two England internationals occupy similar positions and there are only so many spots in a star-studded attack which also includes Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes and Jadon Sancho.
Greenwood enjoyed a blistering start to the season by scoring in each of his first three appearances, but Rashford's return from shoulder surgery has limited the youngster's minutes.
There are even suggestions Greenwood could leave Old Trafford in search of more opportunities, with Arsenal emerging as a surprise suitor.
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Paul Parker, who won four major honours with United in the early '90s, would be loath to see the academy graduate depart and urged Rangnick to give him a "run in that team".
"He’s (Rashford's) holding back Mason Greenwood," the former defender told bettingexpert. "I think Greenwood needs a run in that team.
"He’s a young boy, and there are stories about him leaving. That might be drummed up by his agent.
"I still believe that when you have good young players, they need to play. Because otherwise they will lose their confidence.
"They will look at what they have been doing, they will be looking at what people are doing in front of them and ask themselves questions.
"When they start doing that, it’s negative and they’ll end up going backwards. You have to be careful of that with Greenwood."
While Rashford has started more games under Rangnick, Greenwood has arguably performed better since the German was appointed interim manager.
He came off the bench to assist Fred's winner against Palace and scored the Red Devils' only goal in their 1-1 draw with Young Boys in the Champions League.
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Greenwood's brilliant acrobatic effort against the Swiss club served as a timely reminder of his talent, leaving Parker in no doubt he deserves a spot in the first XI.
"He (Greenwood) needs not just to be coming on, he needs to start games and he needs someone to believe in him and play him regularly until the manager can see a bit of fatigue," Parker added.
Greenwood's overall tally for the season stands at five goals and two assists in 17 appearances in all competitions, whereas Rashford has three goals and one assist in 12 games.
