Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford.
Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford.
Marcus Rashford has a fight on his hands to convince Ruben Amorim and the Manchester United ownership of his value to the squad that he has given so many years of his career to - but The Manchester Evening News readers in our comments section think that he does not have much more time to prove it.
Rashford's contract does not expire until 2028, but it's been reported by The Telegraph that the club will consider bids for him as soon as next year. He was not considered to be among the "untouchables" this summer, either, like Andre Onana, Kobbie Mainoo or Alejandro Garnacho.
Once considered the future in United's attack, he faces stiff competition from newer arrivals and rising stars. A big sale for Rashford would also be a very valuable sale for the club as an academy product, with a number of similarly homegrown players at other Premier League clubs made vulnerable as options to make "pure profit" for teams who can use that to their advantage when making signings.
Our reader LesJohnson thinks that the decision is easy: "Rashford is no Ronaldo, Messi, or even Beckham, he is average compared to them, so turf him out ASAP, with Antony and others, who are nothing but average on superstar wages! We need to get back to reality rapidly, and by getting rid of such players is the first step, but it will be painful and Amorim knows that!"
Another commenter in Lozza The Red says: "Getting someone with an exceptionally high salary off the books is very hard. Perhaps if Rubin Amorim can get him back to a 30-goal per season guy this might be another story but, otherwise, the issue is whether we want to make a small profit or keep him on as a squad player."
Jayjaydee writes: "You'll always have some club willing to pay this guy outrageous money. You'll always have some manager who thinks that they can get the best out of Marcus. He's not worth the wages and his past performances should be an indicator of future performances.
"Perhaps he does need a change of scenery, maybe he can get back to his best of a few seasons ago. We'll see."
Abbey Hey says: "He was fabulous, now he looks lost. All good things have to come to an end - and that time is now." Gortonboy agrees: "Sell him ASAP, the more he plays the more his value drops. He needs a fresh challenge and we can use the transfer funds to improve the forward line."
Sidhu48 reckons that personnel changes might be a good thing for Rashford: "[Jadon] Sancho left, he's doing well. The problem is not the players but the post-SAF managers. Give Amorim and Rashford a chance to work it out until the end of the season at least."
Garth123 writes: "I certainly think he's in the last chance saloon now. He hasn't buckled down under our previous managers, apart from one season, maybe two at best. The decision will now be down to Amorim.
"If he fits into his system and shows some sign of form then all well and good.
"However, if the opposite is seen then Amorim will release him. That's easier said than done, of course, because a player who is on over £300,000-per-week will be difficult to move on. You have to be also careful, not so much in Rashford's case, of the PSR footprint when moving players on for a cut price."
Have your say! Should Marcus Rashford be given the time that every other player needs to settle into Ruben Amorim's system? Comment below - and join in on the conversation.