Former Manchester United fullback Paul Parker believes Marcus Rashford has “forgot” what his strengths are as a player and accuses the 27-year-old forward of “sending out the wrong messages” while wearing a Red shirt.
Rashford swapped Old Trafford for Villa Park at the end of the January transfer window in a loan deal until the end of the season after a public dispute with Ruben Amorim. Aston Villa retain a £40 million buy-option to make the forward’s move a permanent one in the summer.
The Portuguese head coach dropped the England international for the Manchester Derby in December, alongside Alejandro Garnacho, explaining issues with the pair’s attitude and application in training as the reason.
Though United would emerge 2-1 winners at the Etihad, courtesy of a fantastic late goal by Amad, Rashford’s response to the gauntlet laid down by his manager was to release an unauthorised interview with journalist Henry Winter a few days later, declaring his desire to leave his boyhood club.
Amorim, along with the executive branch at Old Trafford, were thoroughly unimpressed by this response and, as a result, Rashford did not play a single minute for United again before his loan move to Aston Villa on February 2 was finalised.
By contrast, Garnacho was immediately reinstated into the first-team squad following the Manchester Derby with Amorim publicly praising the 20-year-old Argentine’s improved work-rate and attitude on multiple occasions since.
Evidently, had Rashford heeded the words of his manager, he would still be a United player. Instead, the 27-year-old’s own words left the club with no other option than a temporary exit – because Rashford’s exorbitant wage packet prevented a permanent departure – at a time when Amorim’s side were desperate for goals.
“The Wrong Messages
But, speaking in an exclusive interview with The Peoples Person, courtesy of Betano, Parker believes it was still the right decision to send Rashford on loan because of his attitude on the pitch, mirroring Amorim’s assessment.
“Rashford was sending out the wrong messages to his teammates and to the fans as well; it didn’t bother him,” the Premier League winning defender states.
Parker judges Rashford’s positive performances since arriving at Villa Park to mirror his best form in a United shirt, with neither ultimately being of the level required at Old Trafford.
“I think Rashford has flourished at Villa in the same he flourished at United, and it wasn’t good enough. Villa are getting moments from him, but there’s still a lot of times where’s producing something a man on the street can do – control, pass, square it.”
“A game is more than three of four minutes,” Parker concludes, suggesting the criticism that Rashford is something of a ‘moments’ player, who drifts in and out of games far too often, is valid.
Rashford Hasn’t Improved Aston Villa
Interestingly, the 61-year-old contends Rashford has “forgot” where his strengths lie as a forward and moved away from the style which helped establish him in a Red shirt in the first place.
“When [Rashford] came in under Louis van Gaal, United were putting balls in behind and he was driving on. Or when he was one against one, he would push and run [with the ball] – that’s all he done, push and run, and maybe he forgot that was his strength because now he’s trying tricks, and he’s not that kind of player.”
Parker even states Aston Villa have superior players in Rashford’s best positions – left-wing and centre-forward – already, indicating Unai Emery’s team have not been improved by the 27-year-old’s introduction.
“”I think Jacob Ramsey gives more [on the left] than Rashford. And playing in front of [Ollie] Watkins in those two PSG games I found really odd. Did Unai Emery really think that was gonna make the difference when you have someone like Watkins? Only the manager can answer that, but I think PSG were shocked and I think Villa fans were shocked and seriously disappointed.”
Parker concludes by stating there is a “big difference” between the pressure and expectation at Villa Park compared to Old Trafford. To be able to perform at the former is not indicative of your ability to succeed at the latter, such is the difference in magnitude of the respective clubs.
And given Rashford appeared unbothered by the “wrong messages” he was exhibiting for United earlier this season, as Parker correctly identifies, it feels unlikely the 27-year-old forward would have improved had he remained in Manchester.
A change was beneficial for both parties and a permanent exit should be the only conclusion come the summer.
Featured image Michael Steele via Getty Images
Darragh Fox
Darragh is a writer for The Peoples Person who spent three years as a history graduate slowly realising football was by far the most interesting thing to write about.
