Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has insisted that Marcus Rashford’s continued absence from the team is due to the player’s own choice.
On yet another occasion, Rashford was left out from a United matchday squad, as his teammates were beaten 3-1 by Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday afternoon.
Yankuba Minteh, Kaoru Mitoma and Georginio Rutter scored for Brighton to seal its third win against United in as many seasons at Old Trafford.
The result has left United in 13th place in the Premier League standings and closer to the relegation zone than Champions League qualification.
Amorim has lost seven of his 15 games in charge since succeeding former manager Erik ten Hag in November. Six defeats from the first 12 home league games of the season is also United´s worst run since 1893/94.
This poor run of form has coincided with Rashford’s absence. Indeed, it has now been over a month since Rashford last featured for United.
The England international has only been named in one of their last nine matchday squads across all competitions and even then, he remained an unused substitute as the Red Devils slipped to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Newcastle.
Speaking in his post-match press conference after the Brighton game, Amorim was asked about Rashford and whether he was let down by the fact the forward was not available to him for selection.
Amorim responded, “No. It is his choice. I don’t want to focus this bad moment because in these games we lost, Rashford is not here.”
“I don’t want to put this moment on Rashford. Rashford is out of this moment because he is not playing.”
“No matter what, I am not going to put a player I don’t believe is the best for the team.”
Rashford continues to be linked with an exit from United this month, with a number of teams including AC Milan, Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona, West Ham, Galatasaray and Tottenham Hotspur all thought to be interested in his services.
Featured image Carl Recine via Getty Images
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Derick Kinoti
Derick Kinoti is a football writer at The Peoples Person who has covered Manchester United and the game extensively for many years. He is a keen analyst with expertise in SEO and journalism standards. Derick is convinced Wayne Rooney is the true GOAT and won’t hear otherwise!
