Shortly after making his summer return, Marcus Rashford is attracting trouble at Manchester United once again.
The 28-year-old became an exile at Carrington in December 2024 when Ruben Amorim dropped him from his plans.
This prompted a mid-season loan move to Aston Villa, followed by a ‘dream’ summer transfer to Barcelona.
But despite a decent campaign at Camp Nou, the Blaugrana snubbed Rashford in favour of the younger Anthony Gordon and Kerim Adeyemi, prompting a return to Man Utd.
Man United teammates irritated by Marcus Rashford
(Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
While the attacker’s homecoming was slightly awkward after an 18-month exile, Carrick was seemingly delighted to accommodate Rashford, whom he had played alongside and also coached in the past.
But aside from a few flashes of brilliance, the England international has yet to lend the team a hand in this desperate moment.
Therefore, British journalist Alex Crook argues that the MUFC boss has already lost faith in his player who was an unused substitute in Sunday’s draw at Leeds.
“I think he’s probably peaked, you know, that season when he scored so many goals under Erik ten Hag (2022/23) and convinced them to give him this huge, big-money contract, which has been a real problem for the football club,” said Crook during his appearance on talkSPORT.
“Since he came back, I was hoping that maybe his spell away at Barcelona would have sparked a new lease of life in Marcus Rashford, but we haven’t seen it, in all honesty.
“I think Michael Carrick was absolutely right to put him on the bench yesterday, and the fact that he didn’t bring him on at the end of the game, when United were short of goals and chasing a winner, probably tells you he doesn’t at this moment in time.”
Crook also feels that the Man Utd dressing room is also disgruntled with Rashford, who is the club’s highest earner, but hardly justifies his hefty weekly salary of £325,000.
“I think his return has been a problem. I think there are probably some unhappy players in that dressing room because he’s earning so much money.
“I think it’s also been an issue for Matheus Cunha because it’s his place that Marcus Rashford took, and you can see that Cunha is sulking a little bit. There was such a good balance at the top end of the pitch last season with Cunha, Mbeumo, Bruno Fernandes, Amad Diallo and Šeško when he was fit.
“Marcus Rashford, not on a personal level, but just because those players feel aggrieved, I think he’s upset the balance of the attack and isn’t putting the numbers on the board at the moment to justify that huge salary.”
Do Man Utd players have the right to be upset with Rashford?
(Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Last season, United’s attack was properly functioning for the first time in many years. However, that department lacked depth, with Amorim and Carrick both suggesting that reinforcements are required.
Therefore, had Rashford sealed a permanent transfer to Barcelona, the plan for INEOS was to sign a replacement (although they could have bottled it, as evidenced by the left-back chase).
Moreover, even with the Englishman dropped against Leeds, Cunha still started on the bench, proving that the Brazilian’s omission from the starting lineup isn’t directly related to Rashford, but either to the player’s regressing form or the coach’s tactical plans.
All in all, it feels that everyone at the club is searching for a scapegoat to explain how the team’s form collapsed over the summer, and the easiest thing to do is to point the finger at someone who wasn’t around when the club was winning last season.
But while Rashford has had his shortcomings, blaming him for his teammates’ poor form would be senseless.
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