There is a suggestion that technical director Jason Wilcox could have influenced Ruben Amorim’s decision to omit Man Utd duo Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho from his squad for the Manchester Derby.
Red Devils boss Amorim surprised fans, pundits and former players by dropping Rashford and Garnacho for their crucial match against the Citizens at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
Josko Gvardiol gave Man City a half-time lead in the Manchester Derby but Man Utd found a way to strike back late through Bruno Fernandes and Amad Diallo take all three points in a 2-1 win.
It was only Amorim’s second Premier League win since arriving as the new Man Utd boss in November but it could go down as a turning point in the club’s recent history.
There have been rumours over the past week that Man Utd are ready to sell Rashford over the next couple of transfer windows if they receive a ‘top offer’ for the England international, while Garnacho is also seen as ‘not indispensable’ by Amorim.
Both players played in the 2-1 comeback win over Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League group stage on Thursday and it came as a shock that they were both left out of Amorim’s 20-man squad at the Etihad.
MORE ON MANCHESTER DERBY FROM F365
👉 Three short minutes of Manchester United passion enough as Manchester City get what they deserve
👉 Man City and Man Utd are ‘mere vessels for ego and soft power’
👉 Keane tips one Man Utd star for transfer as he hits out at ‘body language’ after Man City win
And The Athletic‘s Laurie Whitwell insists that technical director Wilcox – who is likely to have more responsibility since Dan Ashworth’s departure – will probably have had a say over the dropping of Man Utd duo Rashford and Garnacho.
Whitwell said on Talk of the Devils podcast: “Jason Wilcox was sat in between today [Dave] Brailsford and Sir Jim Ratcliffe today, which I thought was maybe notable.
“Obviously, Dan Ashworth has departed. It feels like Jason Wilcox will take up more of that kind of responsibility. He’s the one at the training ground every day, watching training every day. So I’d be amazed if they hadn’t had a conversation, Ruben Amorin and Jason Wilcox between them, about this kind of situation.”
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano insisted that it was a “technical decision” from Man Utd boss Amorim to leave the duo out of his squad.
Romano said on his YouTube channel: “Ruben Amorim decided not to include Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho in the squad for the derby. So not just in the starting XI, not just in the players who can be replaced in the second half. This is the technical decision of Ruben Amorim. This is how it’s described by sources at Man Utd.”
Romano added: “It’s also important to say that these could have consequences on their future.”
