England midfielder Eric Dier has described Marcus Rashford's rise to the national team as a "fairytale".

The 18-year-old striker was a relative unknown before being drafted in as an emergency replacement for Manchester United in February, since going on to score eight goals in 18 appearances and become a key player for his club side.

His form has been rewarded with a call-up to Roy Hodgson's preliminary 26-man squad for Euro 2016 this summer, joining the likes of Dier, Harry Kane and Dele Alli as players to have burst onto the scene since the last major international tournament.

"It's a bit of a fairytale isn't it? It is brilliant for English football and for him, and I'm really happy for him that he is here with us," he told reporters.

"Hopefully we can look after him, there won't be too much pressure on him and he can do what he has been doing for his club here with us. I think maybe Harry [Kane] opened the door for people like Marcus this season.

"It is brilliant that if you are good enough, you are old enough and I think he fully deserves all the credit he has been getting. It has been an unbelievable few months for him."

Rashford is expected to make his senior England debut during Friday's Euro 2016 warm-up match against Australia.