Marcus Rashford wants out of Manchester United and while that’s obviously fine, most people – including his manager Ruben Amorim – would have chosen a different method of breaking the news, just as most journalists would have led with that bombshell over Rashford’s return to his primary school to deliver Christmas presents. Each to their own, we guess.

He probably should have left a while ago in truth and his relationship with his boyhood club has become increasingly strained to the point, even before his comments earlier this week, where it felt as though there was no way back for him.

It’s got us wondering which other players are in a similar position to Rashford at their clubs, not necessarily feeling sidelined or unloved as he is, but at a point where they feel the need for a “new challenge”.

We’ve come up with the most likely candidate from every Premier League club to pull a Rashford and announce their desire to leave ahead of the January transfer window.

Arsenal: Jakub Kiwior
Multiple reports claim he wants to leave, there’s too smoke for there to be no fire and him breaking ranks to make plain that wish would be the least surprising of any player on this list. After what Jean-Philippe Mateta did to him on Wednesday we can’t imagine a single Arsenal fan would give a shiny sh*t.

Aston Villa: Jhon Duran
A mercurial and fascinating human being who’s actually managed to usurp Ollie Watkins to start the last two Premier League games owing to his brilliant form this season that’s seen him score 11 goals in all competitions at an extraordinary rate of one of every 78 minutes.

There’s a volatility about him though, which makes him hugely entertaining, but also means it feels as though he’s a moment away from doing something utterly mad that will lead to a complete breakdown in his relationship with Unai Emery, from which there will be no return.

Bournemouth: Milos Kerkez
Word will have reached him about interest from Liverpool and Manchester United, and we can absolutely see a situation where Andoni Iraola insists on Kerkez saying he wants to leave for them to enter talks with his suitors.

Brentford: Bryan Mbeumo
Same story as Kerkez. If Newcastle, Aston Villa or even bigger clubs come calling, Mbeumo may feel the need to push Brentford to the negotiating table. Christ, football is grim.

Brighton: Julio Enciso
Looked destined to be another big profit sale for Brighton not all that long ago, but injuries have been a big problem and now he’s back he’s not getting anywhere near enough game time under Fabian Hurzeler, who doesn’t fancy him for some reason.

One of the players on this list we hope does ask to leave as we would love to see him playing football.

Chelsea: Christopher Nkunku
Must really grind his gears that he was consistently talked about last season as Chelsea’s best finisher while injured amid their profligacy under Mauricio Pochettino, and now he’s fit he can’t get in the team because Nicolas Jackson apparently became a mixture of Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka over the summer.

Nkunku will still feel he is Chelsea’s best finisher – and not unreasonably given he’s scored 12 goals to Jackson’s nine, albeit mainly through running past painters and builders in the Conference League – and want to be playing regularly for a top side.

Crystal Palace: Cheick Doucoure
Earned huge plaudits in his debut campaign at Selhurst Park before injury kept him out for the majority of last season, and he now can’t get himself back in the team on regular basis.

Everton: Beto
Must be wondering why he signed for Everton in the first place, but that’s a two-way street.

Fulham: Rodrigo Muniz
After nine goals in the final 16 games of last season he probably felt pretty assured of his spot and –like the rest of us – can’t have foreseen the return to form of Raul Jimenez, who is now very much the main man up top ahead of the Brazilian.

Ipswich: Kalvin Phillips
Part of us feels sorry for Kalvin Phillips but a bigger part finds his progress down through the football pyramid from Manchester City in a bid to find a football club that will actually play him fascinating. We can’t imagine his search for a “new challenge” would yield any interest above a mid-table Championship side by this point.

Leicester: Hamza Choudhury
No idea how Choudhury is 27 years old, but he probably doesn’t want to spending his prime years watching from the sidelines.

Liverpool: Trent Alexander-Arnold
Obviously not going to leave in January when his contract expires in the summer but we could see some sort of Jurgen Klopp-like announcement, rather more prepared and official than Rashford’s no doubt, ahead of a big send-off at the end of the season. He will want to leave for Real Madrid In The Right Way.

Manchester City: Jack Grealish
Says all you need to know about Grealish’s standing at Manchester City that he can’t get a game when they’re this rotten. His displays for England earlier this season proved he’s got plenty of The Old Jack left to delight us elsewhere.

Manchester United: Alejandro Garnacho
While we get the fans’ obsession with Garnacho as they search for anything half decent about Manchester United, the love of a player with 23 goals and 12 assists in 111 appearances was wildly over the top.

The tide of public opinion appears to have turned somewhat in recent weeks, unfairly with regard to his supposed role in team leaks, but not when it comes to the subpar performances that led Ruben Amorim to drop him for the Manchester derby.

We could see a similar slap on the wrist from Amorim leading to an ill-advised and not all that cryptic Instagram post to speed the exit from the club for a footballer constantly on the verge of a tantrum.

READ MORE: Rashford to Arsenal, Garnacho to Atletico? Six potential 2025 Man Utd sales to fund Amorim rebuild

Newcastle: Bruno Guimaraes
He loves Newcastle, the Newcastle fans love him yadda yadda yadda, but if Pep Guardiola decides he’s the guy he wants at the base of midfield for the rest of the season then he’s going to Manchester City.

Nottingham Forest: Taiwo Awoniyi
Can’t be easy being usurped by a guy he was clear of last season, and to such an extent that any time Awoniyi is on the pitch instead of Chris Wood the fans give them little hope of scoring or getting anything from a game. They’ve lost both of the games the Nigerian has started this season.

READ MORE: Chelsea dominate top ten most improved PL players thanks to manager of the season Enzo Maresca

Southampton: Tyler Dibling
Actually good at football and therefore too good for Southampton.

Tottenham: Cristian Romero
He’s already called out Daniel Levy and if he’s not aware that the longer he plays as a centre-back under Ange Postecoglou the more likely Real Madrid are going to go off him then he should be.

West Ham: Mohammed Kudus
A huge coup for West Ham when they signed him and Kudus will have known that. Rumours of an exit have hardly let up since and if Arsenal, Liverpool or whoever else solidify their interest we can’t imagine the Ghanaian will have any problem voicing his desire to leave.

Wolves: Matheus Cunha
He remains a hugely enticing prospect for big teams despite his playground bullying antics and there’s no chance – despite Vitor Pereira replacing Gary O’Neil – that Wolves can match his quality and ambition.

Man Utd legend Gary Neville has accused Lisandro Martinez of making a “wimpish” mistake as the Red Devils lost 4-3 to Tottenham on Thursday.

Both goalkeepers had nights to forget as Spurs moved into the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup in a match full or errors with the Argentina international coming in for criticism.

Martinez was blamed for Tottenham’s second goal, after Dominic Solanke had already put Ange Postecoglou’s side ahead, with the Argentinian failing to deal with a cross and flicking the ball straight to Dejan Kulusevski.

The Sweden international fired the ball past Man Utd goalkeeper Altay Bayindir from inside the penalty area to double Tottenham’s advantage.

After watching Martinez’s performance on Thursday night, Man Utd legend Neville described the player nicknamed ‘The Butcher’ as ‘wimpish’ for Spurs’ second goal.

Neville said on Sky Sports: “I have to say the clearance from Lisandro Martinez is quite simply appalling. To play that straight to Kulusevski.

“He’s been let down by two poor mistakes, Ruben Amorim. He really has. You can talk about structure, shape, patterns tactics, but if your goalkeeper parries one out into the centre of the box and your centre back flicks one with the outside of his left boot…it’s a wimpish clearance.”

Tottenham were in complete command of the match after Solanke scored his second of the match to put Postecoglou’s men in a commanding 3-0 lead.

Two mistakes from Spurs goalkeeper Fraser Forster saw Joshua Zirkzee and Amad Diallo get two goals back for Man Utd with 20 minutes left to play.

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Bayindir did not cover himself in glory for Spurs’ fourth goal with Son Heung-min scoring direct from a corner with the Man Utd goalkeeper complaining of a push from Lucas Bergvall.

But Neville had no sympathy, he added: “It’s a mess, I’ve got no sympathy for goalkeepers that get pushed off the ball by defenders,’ said the former Red Devils defender. ‘He’s fuming but I still think he’s got to be stronger.”

Man Utd boss Amorim thought his side were the better team for the majority of the match as they dipped out of the first domestic cup of the season.

Amorim said: “We showed that in the past games also when we were losing in difficult moments. We disconnect in the beginning of the second half, it was a tough moment for us, like 10 minutes.

“And then we return, I think we did a great job. I think if you look at all the game, I think we were the best team but they [Spurs] were more clinical. We lose the game but the fight from the lads was really important for me.”

On taking advantage of Spurs’ high line, Amorim continued: “We know that this team [Spurs] play with a high line. When they switch sides, they try to push us so we tried to take advantage of that.

“I felt a little bit a lack of physicality in those balls because we had the position and we have to work on that. Overall, it was a good match but there is no taste in that. We didn’t win, we need to focus on the next game.”

Jamie Carragher thinks we all spend too much time talking about Marcus Rashford as he’s not that good a player, and advised the Manchester United star to “keep your mouth shut”.

Rashford said in an interview on Tuesday that he was looking for a “new challenge”, which came as a surprise to the club and new head coach Ruben Amorim.

The Portuguese boss had dropped Rashford, along with Alejandro Garnacho, for the Manchester derby on Sunday, but said there was no disciplinary issue and expected the England international to be vying for a place in the team for the clash with Tottenham on Thursday.

Rashford again wasn’t selected, with reports suggesting he was sent home from training on Monday due to illness, but Amorim – while admitting the forward’s interview shocked him and made him “a little bit emotional” – confirmed ahead of the trip to Tottenham that Rashford remains a part of his plans.

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Carragher was asked about the situation ahead of the Carabao Cup clash and slammed Rashford for making the comments without the club’s knowledge, and believes he’s put them in a really awkward position.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Carragher said: “I feel like I’ve been talking about Marcus Rashford for the last week, and I’ve said before, he’s not that good of a player for the amount of time that we talk about him. Wayne Rooney was, David Beckham was, Cristiano Ronaldo was.

“I’m not for any player coming out and being critical of the club, but for Rashford to do that, to come out without the club having any knowledge of it and just announce he’s basically put in a transfer request or he wants to leave the club, that leaves the club in a really poor position in terms of negotiating his exit at some stage.

“If he really believes he wants to still be a Manchester United player and he still wants to have a great career, you don’t come out with a statement like that. You keep your mouth shut, you battle and you hope that you get a little chance.”

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Rashford scored 30 goals in all competitions in the 2022/2023 season but has really struggled since, and Carragher doesn’t believe 30 goals is anything to write home about in any case.

Carragher added: “People keep talking about 30 goals, which is a really big figure. It’s not out of this world. We’re looking at some players now, they have better figures than that and he’s at Manchester United, a top team who dominates a lot of games.

“Manchester United should have a player every season scoring 30 goals. If they’re going to be playing 55 to 60 games, if you’ve got a player who can’t get 30 goals, he probably shouldn’t be at Manchester United.”

Former Premier League striker Troy Deeney thinks Man Utd need to get Antony “out the club” after watching their 4-3 loss to Tottenham on Thursday.

The Red Devils found themselves 3-0 down after 54 minutes against Spurs before two Fraser Forster mistakes allowed Amad Diallo and Joshua Zirkzee to pull two goals back with 20 minutes remaining.

However, Son Heung-min secured Tottenham’s passage through to the semi-finals with a fourth goal on 88 minutes despite a late Jonny Evans goal.

Man Utd flop Antony – who has been disappointing since his £85m move from Ajax in 2022 – was given a rare start but put in a poor display as he was hooked off by Ruben Amorim on 55 minutes.

And now ex-Watford striker Deeney reckons Man Utd need to sell Antony or even “pay” another club to take the winger with Marcus Rashford.

Deeney said on CBS Sports: “As soon as Manchester United took Antony off, everybody else started running.

“They’ve got to cut ties with him. I don’t want to make him the scapegoat but, honestly, watching him is so frustrating. This is your big moment.

“He doesn’t run, he doesn’t sprint… just get him out.

“If you’re getting rid of Marcus Rashford, whoever is taking him, we’ll pay you to take him [Antony] as well. Get him out the club.”

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But it wasn’t just Man Utd coming in for criticism from Deeney with the 36-year-old accusing Tottenham of “inviting pressure” with their high line despite being in command of the game.

Deeney added: “Tottenham were so in control. Sixty minutes, 3-0 and Manchester United had nothing.

“They had to bring on three subs and they probably didn’t even want to bring those guys on, let’s be totally honest, and Tottenham were in a situation where they were inviting pressure.

“Going to your goalkeeper should be going to your goalkeeper to come out the other side of play, so if you can pass it to him on the right-hand side, he takes a touch with his right foot, plays it out with his left foot, and you just keep making that team run.

“They didn’t do that… they took five, six, seven touches, tried to score, they were trying to play with a high line and just inviting pressure.

“Tottenham’s defenders were running forward. You learn that at four or five years old: no pressure on the ball, stop, back off, give them space. They do everything backwards.”

Teddy Sheringham has picked out the players Ruben Amorim should build around at Manchester United and slammed his former club over a “ridiculous” decision.

Amorim lost his third game as United boss on Thursday, as Spurs triumphed over them in an absurd Carabao Cup quarter-final, and the Portuguese head coach is now well aware of the job he has on his hands at Old Trafford at the end of the week in which he’s also had to deal with Marcus Rashford’s bombshell announcement that he wants to leave the club.

It’s becoming ever clearer that a significant overhaul is required for United to start challenging for major trophies again and Sheringham says there are currently just four players in the squad Amorim can build around, including – somewhat surprisingly – Harry Maguire.

Sheringham told Genting Casino: “I think Harry Maguire has still got that stature at the football club. I think he’s still captain material. Kobbie Mainoo, who has a lovely presence in midfield. Amad Diallo, who I talked about earlier, and Rasmus Hojlund.

“Amad and Hojlund, both young lads that have been showing good grit. I like Hojlund. He’s been feeding off scraps for far too long, but he’s still scoring goals. I think he’s got something about him.

“He’s still only a very young boy to be leading the line at Man United. When they had the choice to buy either Harry Kane or him one and a half years ago, I would have said, you’ve got to go and get Harry Kane to lead the line for the next two years, three years, and then get Hojlund in.

“But now Hojlund has had that 18-month experience. I think it’s held him in good stead, and I think he’s in a good place, that’s what I’m taking from the way that he plays.”

Sheringham also hit out at his former club for spending such significant time and money to steal Dan Ashorth from Newcastle only to send him packing five months later.

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He said: “Yeah, Dan Ashworth probably is a disposable piece of the bigger jigsaw at United. I mean, they’re good at wasting money, aren’t they, Man United?

“To do that, have the prolonged chase with him while he was at Newcastle and then to get him out after, how long did you say, five months? It’s absolutely ridiculous.

“To chase a man down, pay compensation for them and then to get rid, probably having to pay him off as well. Ridiculous.”

Bruno Fernandes has been United’s standout player since joining the club nearly five years ago, but Jamie Carragher claimed recently that the club should consider selling him to fund their rebuild.

Sheringham disagrees and added the club captain to his list of players to build around.

He added: “No, I think Fernandes has reacted very well to the new manager coming in. I wouldn’t sell him as Carragher has suggested. Obviously, being a fellow Portuguese, I think it does help, so Bruno can understand exactly what he wants, and he probably knows by watching his old club Sporting Lisbon, what the manager is all about.

“He will know more about him than the average player at Manchester United, so I wouldn’t get rid of Fernandes. I think he’s stepped up to the plate and I think he’s one to build a team around as well.”

Manchester United are reportedly willing to ‘sanction’ one specific exit route for Marcus Rashford on ‘one condition’ as ‘insiders’ have a ‘fear’.

The 27-year-old has announced that he wants to leave his boyhood club as he has not benefitted from the appointment of Ruben Amorim.

Man Utd‘s new head coach has taken no prisoners since arriving at Old Trafford and he omitted Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho from his squad to face Man City last weekend.

Garnacho has since returned to the fold, while Rashford was not involved as Man Utd were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday night.

Rashford is also unlikely to be involved when United host Bournemouth on Sunday after making it clear that he is “ready” for a new challenge.

The England international has been linked with several Premier League and European sides in recent days. A report from The Sun claims Man Utd ‘will let Rashford leave on loan in January on one condition’.

READ: ‘Toxic’ Rashford will have to take Newcastle ‘pay cut’ to prove he isn’t ‘basically Mudryk’

This comes as Old Trafford ‘insiders fear the situation is fast becoming untenable’. It is claimed that they would only let him leave on loan if he joined a non-Premier League club.

‘The only solution may be to get the England striker “out of the picture” for a while.

‘United would not loan Rashford to a Premier League rival – ruling out any chance of a switch to Arsenal or Chelsea, who have both reportedly been interested in strikers to boost their firepower.

‘But several clubs in Spain, France and Germany are monitoring the situation and could be interested in giving Rashford an escape-route from his Utd hell.

‘SunSport understands the last 48 hours have caused a huge amount of unrest inside the club.’

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A move to the Saudi Pro League is also a possibility and journalist Ben Jacobs reveals three clubs have ‘formally expressed an interest’ int he wantaway forward.

Jacobs revealed: “At least three Saudi clubs have formally expressed an interest in Marcus Rashford to central dealmakers. Remains to be seen if Rashford would be open to Saudi in 2025.

“Al-Ahli are currently the most concrete suitor from Saudi. Matthias Jaissle really (and urgently) wants a left-winger or forward. Al-Ahli would have to offload or de-register a foreigner first.

“Al-Ittihad looked at Rashford in past, but Steven Bergwijn is in excellent form. Al-Qadsiah also alert to the Rashford opportunity.

“But first Rashford would have to indicate Saudi is of appeal, which hasn’t happened yet. #MUFC haven’t actually received any meaningful approaches yet since Rashford’s omission from the Manchester Derby.”

Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher believes that Man Utd defender Lisandro Martinez is becoming “a worry” for Red Devils supporters.

Man Utd lost 4-3 to Tottenham on Thursday night as Ange Postecoglou’s side moved into the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup at the Red Devils’ expense.

Martinez made a mistake by failing to adequately clear a ball in the box as Dejan Kulusevski swept home Spurs’ second goal of the night in an error-strewn game.

Ruben Amorim, much like his predecessors, has struggled to get consistent results and performances out of his Man Utd side with the Portuguese head coach still working out his best side.

And Carragher reckons Martinez is now a “worry” for Man Utd fans after watching him struggle against Tottenham on Thursday.

Carragher said on Sky Sports: “I think a worry for United fans is Lisandro Martinez. I didn’t think he’d play well in a back four because he’s small, but he had a really good first season.

“In some ways you’d think he’d be suited to a back three, he can step out on his left foot and he’s got two big defenders next to him. But I don’t think he’s looked as comfortable since Amorim came in. He had a really poor night.”

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When Man Utd signed Martinez in July 2022 in a deal worth around £56.7m, Carragher was critical of the signing because of the Argentina international’s 5ft 9in frame.

However, Martinez had a good first season in the Premier League under Erik ten Hag with Carragher later admitting there was a “massive drop off” when the Argentinian wasn’t in the Man Utd side.

Carragher said in May 2023: “That’s not about Martinez [being too short for the league], that’s about any centre-back coming to the Premier League who is well under six foot you think is going to have a problem.

“But he hasn’t and every player has weaknesses whatever that may be, whether it’s physically or technically, and the best players hide the weaknesses, nobody’s a perfect player. I just looked at him and thought, ‘how can you overcome that in the Premier League?’.

“I wasn’t the tallest centre-back and I used to go into games worried that I’m going to get found out and bullied. At times you lose big challenges and goals. I thought he’s two or three inches shorter than me.

“But just like with Casemiro, it’s a massive drop off when Martinez is not in the Manchester United team defensively but also his ability on the ball and playing out from the back.

“He’s a warrior, he’s a leader and when you think of that spine of the team certainly him and Casemiro, two new signings, they’ve made a huge difference. So apologies Lisandro and all Man United fans can you stop tweeting me about Lisandro Martinez now please!”