Marcus Rashford must stay at Manchester United to recapture best form – Man United News And Transfer News

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The sale of Marcus Rashford would have been considered a ridiculous statement by most last summer after the forward had just lodged the best goalscoring season of his career.

The winger was lauded by many as he tore through most of England’s defences at will and left such an impression on former Barcelona boss Xavi Hernandez, that he labelled him one of the toughest players his Barca side had faced during his time as manager.

The England international has also been described as “unplayable” at his very best due to his lethal combination of pace, skill and finishing ability.

Fast forward 12 months though and the situation is somewhat different.

The 26 year old was consistently lambasted throughout the season by pundits referring to his poor attitude and negative body language while on the pitch.

In spite of showing the odd moment of magic like his wonder strike in the Manchester derby, the winger struggled for form and was outperformed by young attackers Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund, as he only scored eight goals all season, a dramatic drop off from the 30 of the previous campaign.

What’s more, the stunning emergence of Kobbie Mainoo means that Rashford has been somewhat replaced as the poster boy of United and their academy.

Adding insult to injury, Rashford was also omitted from England’s Euro 2024 squad and with the attacking talent the Three Lions boast, he has his work cut out to make it back into the national set up.

Therefore, rumours cropped up earlier in the summer that United would be prepared to let the player go for a bid of around £80 million with Paris Saint-Germain, Saudi Arabian clubs and Arsenal all showing interest in him but no such bids have arrived.

Selling the player would be a premature decision however.

There have been reports that the United camp have been impressed with his work this pre-season and he was a spark in all three games on the tour of America.

He provided an assist in both matches versus Arsenal and Real Betis and got off the mark from the penalty spot in the latter match.

Despite the 0-3 loss to Liverpool, Rashford was electric at times, being a constant menace to the Merseysiders’ defence and combining well with fellow academy products Harry Amass and Toby Collyer.

United have also strengthened their attack with the signing of Joshua Zirkzee and imminent arrival of Chido Obi-Martin, to go alongside Rasmus Hojlund, who was brought in last summer.

The emergence of Amad Diallo and return of Jadon Sancho has also added to the wing depth but United are still not in a situation where they can afford to let go of a player like Rashford.

Zirkzee will need time to adapt to the league and team, Obi-Martin will likely only get odd minutes in the cup, being predominantly an academy signing and Diallo and Sancho are hardly renowned goalscorers.

Therefore, with 131 goals in 402 appearances, he remains by far the club’s most prolific and experienced attacking option.

It can also be sensibly argued that a change in tactics and working with the likes of Ruud van Nistelrooy will do wonders for the striker’s game and goalscoring instincts.

Whilst most fans will probably accept they are unlikely to regularly see the world-class performances of 2022-23, Rashford is a much better player than his efforts last season.

If United are to achieve what they want to this year domestically and abroad, he will need to be.

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