Marcus Rashford has been told he may already have played his final game for Manchester United with club chiefs now fully intent on moving him on in January and with the squad’s true feelings on his situation also coming to light.
The 27-year-old forward has been headline news ever since being overlooked for their matchday squad for last Sunday’s huge 2-1 derby win over Manchester City at the Etihad – a result which now feels a long time ago in the context of their last two games which have both ended in brutal defeats and seen Manchester United ship seven goals.
Indeed, while his fellow squad evictee at the Etihad, Alejandro Garnacho, has since featured in the 4-3 defeat at Tottenham in the Carabao Cup and Sunday’s brutal 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth, Rashford has not been seen since – little surprise given the player has gone public in an interview with the journalist Henry Winter over his wish to leave Old Trafford and try something new.
After being left out of Sunday’s squad, Gary Neville performed a complete U-turn on his previous claims about the player, while talkSPORT also reported that the 60-cap England star ‘will not be in the squad again’ after being overlooked for the clash against Andoni Iraolo’s side.
The report added: ‘Marcus Rashford is believed to still be absent from the Manchester United matchday squad.
‘It will be the third straight game in a row that Rashford has now been selected by Ruben Amorim.
‘The forward, along with Alejandro Garnacho, was left out of the Manchester derby squad.
‘Garnacho returned midweek for the Carabao Cup clash with Spurs, but Rashford did not.
‘Now it is believed that he will not be in the squad again.
‘This is following the comments he made to journalist Henry Winter that he was “ready for a new challenge”.’
Furthermore, it’s also claimed in a separate report by The Sun that the United squad were left stunned by the player going public on his wish to leave and was described as ‘fuming’ for having made the claims just hours after being overlooked for the Etihad Stadium win.
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In that interview with Winter, Rashford claimed he was keen to move on but hoped he would do so without upsetting the applecart and by wishing the club he loves all the best.
Rashford said: “For me, personally, I think I’m ready for a new challenge and the next steps.
“When I leave it’s going to be ‘no hard feelings’. You’re not going to have any negative comments from me about Manchester United. That’s me as a person.
“If I know that a situation is already bad I’m not going to make it worse. I’ve seen how other players have left in the past and I don’t want to be that person. When I leave I’ll make a statement and it will be from me.”
Indeed, while Ruben Amorim has gone on record to state he is refusing to close the door on Rashford’s career at Old Trafford, sources reported to us back in October that efforts to sell the player ahead of the January window were already long underway and that they were very much open to offers for his services.
Developments over the last week have only served to reinforce those claims, while reports that Sir Jim Ratcliffe is keen for a ‘cultural reboot’ at Old Trafford have also nudged him closer to the exit door.
Adding further weight has been added to claims he will depart with The Sun now claiming that Rashford ‘has lost the dressing room after insisting he wants to leave’ Man Utd with his teammates ‘fuming’ over his comments.
It is understood that ‘some of the squad were left dismayed when the 27-year-old striker gave an unauthorised interview during a surprise visit to his old primary school’ with the comments ‘overshadowing’ their victory over City.
A source told the paper: “Some of the players are really annoyed at what Marcus said and why he chose to say it at that time.
“They were all buzzing after beating City and then he basically put in a transfer request after being dropped for one game.
“He’s not got many close friends in the squad anymore after the likes of Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard left, so he’s pretty quiet and doesn’t really act as a leader.
“More is expected of him but he doesn’t seem interested, despite having been in the first team for eight years.”
Latest Man Utd news: Leeds star eyed; summer signing labelled a ‘little stupid’
Meanwhile, a shock report has claimed Manchester United are eyeing a surprise raid on Leeds for Illan Meslier, with an Old Trafford scout a big admirer of the Frenchman.
The impact his potential arrival from Elland Road would have on both Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir has also come to light.
One transfer that is far closer to completion for Man Utd is a deal for Paraguayan left-back Diego Leon.
According to Fabrizio Romano, documents have been signed for Leon to arrive at Man Utd from Cerro Porteno, with the costs of the deal coming to light.
Meanwhile, the fall-out from Sunday’s woeful home loss to Bournemouth continues to cause a stir – and rightly so as United tumbled to another 3-0 loss to Iraola’s improving Cherries.
Now one of the least-criticised United players this season is facing his turn in the spotlight after making a ‘stupid’ mistake in that unacceptable loss.
