Marcus Rashford’s latest “challenge” should be turning his Man Utd career around and getting the club back to the top, says Chris Waddle.
Man Utd reportedly want Rashford to leave in the winter transfer window after Ruben Amorim left the player out of his squad for Sunday’s Manchester derby against Man City.
The England international was also uninvolved for Man Utd’s Carabao Cup trip to Tottenham on Thursday evening.
After being left out against City, Rashford said he is ready to take on a new challenge.
“For me, personally, I think I’m ready for a new challenge and the next steps,” he said in an interview with Henry Winter.
“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.”
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Former England winger Waddle reckons Rashford is seeking the wrong challenge and is actually taking “the easy way out” by leaving.
“We know he’s a talented footballer,” Waddle said on BBC Radio 5 Live.
“He’s been playing a lot of football over the years for arguably the biggest football club in the world, so if you want a challenge – do you not want to put Manchester United back on the map? There’s no bigger club than United in my eyes globally.
“Just because you’ve got that talent, it’s what is upstairs. Why would somebody splash out £100m for somebody who you don’t know what you’re going to get? And if you upset them a bit, you’re stuck with a player on a big contract worth a fortune.
“He’s got a challenge in front of him where he could roll his sleeves up and say: ‘I’m becoming a United legend here – I want to get this club back to where they should be’. That’s the challenge, not ‘I want another challenge’. That’s the easy way out.
“With his ability, he should be winning games for Man Utd nearly every week. He should be unplayable.
“You’ve got a new manager who’s trying to get a bit of rhythm going – after a great win at Manchester City for them. He should be thinking ‘I want to be part of this, I can see something happen here and I want to get in that team’.
“I wouldn’t pick a player who’s not in the right frame of mind.”
