Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim tells Marcus Rashford to ‘speak with the manager’ over exit talk

LONDON – Ruben Amorim has told Marcus Rashford he should “speak with the manager” rather than air his grievances publicly, after the Manchester United forward hinted that he could leave Old Trafford.

The 27-year-old was dropped by the United boss for the 2-1 English Premier League win at Manchester City on Dec 15 and responded by saying he was “ready for a new challenge” in an interview.

Rashford came through United’s youth ranks and has 138 goals in 426 appearances for the club since making his debut in 2016. But he has struggled for form over the last 1½ years and was also omitted from England’s Euro 2024 squad.

The forward has scored just 15 goals in 67 appearances since signing a lucrative new contract last July, with speculation over his future increasing in recent days.

Amorim is keen to keep Rashford but he admitted that he would have handled the situation differently as a player.

“If this was me, probably I will speak with the manager,” he said, ahead of United’s League Cup quarter-final clash at Tottenham Hotspur on Dec 19, which kicked off after press time.

Amorim revealed he has yet to speak to Rashford, who was set to miss the match due to “illness”, since the interview that threw his United future into doubt.

The manager’s 14-minute press conference featured 16 different questions about the player.

It was an indication of the intense media scrutiny Amorim will have to get used to at United after arriving from Sporting Lisbon to replace the sacked Erik ten Hag in November.

“If I give a lot of importance, it will have big headlines in the newspaper,” the Portuguese added.

“If I say it’s not a problem, then my standards are getting low. So, I will deal with that, I understand that.

“My focus is not to take the attention from the game, from the team, and put on Marcus.”

United’s former captain Roy Keane, meanwhile, believes a change might do Rashford “the world of good”.

“I don’t mind what he said. I think it’s spot on. Sometimes a deal just works for everybody,” he told the Stick to Football podcast, adding that once a player loses his hunger, it is hard to get it back.

“I think there’s a good chance he might get it back with a change of a club and scenery, a new country, a new league, whatever, but I don’t think he’ll get it back at United.”

Argentina winger Alejandro Garnacho was also axed from the Manchester derby squad, reportedly because like Rashford, Amorim did not see the high standards required from him in training and in matches.

But he was pictured with the United squad heading to London for the League Cup quarter-final. AFP