Ruben Amorim has refused to close the door on Marcus Rashford at Manchester United, despite the forward hinting he was ready for a fresh start away from Old Trafford.
On Monday, Rashford told journalist Henry Winter that he is “ready for a new challenge” amid rumours of the club’s INEOS ownership harbouring plans to cash in on the Carrington graduate.
Rashford, 27, was left out of Ruben Amorim’s squad for the Manchester derby at the weekend, which United dramatically won 2-1, with the head coach appearing to question his professionalism in training.
However, speaking ahead of Man Utd’s Carabao Cup quarter-final against Tottenham on Thursday, live on Sky Sports, Amorim suggested “big talent” Rashford still has a big part to play at Old Trafford.
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When asked about Rashford’s comments, Amorim said: “I think he’s right. We have here a new challenge and it’s a tough one, it’s the biggest challenge in football because we are in a difficult situation. This is really a new challenge. I hope all my players are ready for this new challenge.
“Have I spoken to Marcus Rashford? Not yet, It was yesterday, I gave them a day off.”
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Football writer Henry Winter speaks to Sky Sports News following his interview with Marcus Rashford in which the Man United forward said he’s ‘ready for a new challenge’, and insisted the England star will leave ‘with respect’
When pressed on the England international’s future, Amorim added: “I just want to win and to help the team be better, so we are better with Marcus Rashford, and that’s simple, we try different things to push Marcus to be at his best level that he’s shown in the past.
“This kind of club needs big talent and he is a big talent so we just need him to perform at the highest level and that is my focus. I just want to help Marcus.”
Amorim: Rashford noise won’t impact squad
Academy product Rashford has scored 138 goals in 426 appearances for his boyhood club, having burst onto the scene in February 2016.
But the 27-year-old’s form has dropped dramatically over the last 18 months and Sky Sports News first reported Rashford, who has scored seven times in 24 appearances this season, was on a collision course with the INEOS leadership and their “clean culture” approach earlier this year, after he breached former manager Erik ten Hag’s rules for a third time in January.
Amorim, Ten Hag’s replacement, has also been unimpressed with Rashford’s application at the training ground and his general demeanour, which led to his and Alejandro Garnacho’s omission from the squad on Sunday.
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Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher looks back at Manchester United’s derby win over Manchester City and suggests that Marcus Rashford having been left out of the squad could signify the end for him at Old Trafford
Despite the noise around Rashford’s future, Amorim insists it won’t impact his squad ahead of the busy Christmas period, starting against Spurs on Thursday.
“They [players] are more simple than that,” he said. “They focus on their job, I was a player and we are a little bit selfish. It is not even an impact on the team.
“We have one more training but it is the same situation as the other players, if they train well then I have to make a choice. We will see at the end of training. I expect the best of each player every day.”
When asked if he would be open to letting a player leave the club leave in January, he added: “This is in the future, my focus is that all the players are at their best and can be prepared for each match.”