Marcus Rashford and Ruben Amorim are reported to be “no longer on speaking terms” as the dispute between the pair reaches boiling point for Manchester United as the club heads into the final week of the winter window.
Rashford, 27, has not featured for the Red Devils since he was dropped for the Manchester Derby in December – a match United would emerge as 2-1 victors after an impressive performance at the Etihad, characterised by Amad’s relentless hard work on and off the ball.
Fellow attacker Alejandro Garnacho was also omitted for the game, with Amorim explaining the pair’s absence was not a disciplinary issue, but rather a result of a lack of standards in training and off the field. Since this point, however, Garnacho has been reinstated into the first-team squad with Amorim praising the improved work rate and application of the 20-year-old winger.
Rashford, by contrast, has not played a single minute after the 27-year-old academy graduate chose to release an interview just three days after the Manchester derby, declaring he was “ready for a new challenge” away from Old Trafford.
This response after Amorim publicly chose to lay down a gauntlet for Rashford to improve his commitment and attitude to the club could scarcely have been more poorly judged.
Even if Rashford signalled to United, privately, that he wanted to leave, the 27-year-old could still have departed Old Trafford this month after six weeks of positive performances for his boyhood team. Instead, the forward threw his toys out of the pram at the first attempt by Amorim to cajole him into improvement.
Rashford’s form since signing a mammoth £325,000-a-week five-year contract in 2023 has been nothing short of dismal. And while poor performances can be excused, if they run concurrent to a lack of effort and constant incidents off the pitch, they soon become inexcusable.
Rashford’s application on the pitch is unforgivable. He half-heartedly presses in a performative manner, whether he has been selected to start the match of brought on as a substitution. He grows increasingly frustrated when his runs aren’t found, throwing his arms up in the air. And opposition fullbacks enjoy the freedom of their flank when United lose the ball as Rashford often fails to track their run.
By contrast, one of the rare bright spots for United this season has been the form of the brilliant Amad.
The 22-year-old winger’s superb technical ability is surpassed only by his relentless work rate off the ball. Multiple times in recent months the Ivorian international has forced a goal through his work rate, hunting down the opposition goalkeeper or defender into a mistake, which he either finishes himself or lays on a plate for a teammate.
There is no reason why Rashford cannot work as hard as Amad. Yet, when demanded to do so by his manager, the experienced star paid eye-watering sums chooses to run from the challenge; which is most unlike him on the pitch.
United are open to Rashford’s departure this month but there is acceptance at the club that a loan deal is the only viable exit, given the 27-year-old forward is little on form and large on wages.
Rashford’s representatives have entered negotiations with AC Milan, Borussia Dortmund, and Barcelona, among other teams throughout Europe, but have been unable to agree a deal, even a temporary one, such is the reticence by the continent’s biggest clubs to pay the United man’s exorbitant salary.
There had been a feeling emerging in recent weeks that Rashford may be set to stay at Old Trafford beyond the February 3 deadline with the attacker pictured back in first-team training.
However, Amorim’s comments following the 1-0 victory over Fulham on the weekend has reignited the prospect of a last-minute loan move for Rashford. When asked about the forward’s continued omission from the match-day squad, Amorim replied in absolute terms.
“It’s the same situation for every player. If you do the maximum, if you do the right things – we can use every player,” the 39-year-old stated.
“You can see it today [Sunday] on the bench – we miss a little bit of pace to go, to change the game, to move some pieces, but I prefer [it] like that. I will put Vital [on the bench] before I put a player that doesn’t give the maximum every day so I will not change that.”
This leaves little doubt over a fractured relationship between the pair with The Guardian reporting that Amorim and Rashford do not speak to each other. Rather, the only time the Portuguese coach addresses the English forward is when he is talking to the whole squad. They do not speak one-on-one.
“While Rashford last played for United in mid-December and has been selected by Amorim in only one matchday squad, when he was an unused replacement, the 27-year-old is training with the first team. However, Amorim does not have individual discussions with Rashford,” the Guardian reveals.
At this stage, a loan move for the remainder of the season appears the only possible solution for Rashford, with the club evidently prepared to back Amorim’s every decision.
Whether any of the attacker’s potential suitors will be willing to pay for him remains to be seen, which should be a lightbulb moment for a player almost willingly failing to achieve his enormous potential.
Featured image Richard Heathcote via Getty Images
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