Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho celebrate together for Manchester United
Ruben Amorim has had to treat Marcus Rashford like he did Jadon Sancho
It took Erik ten Hag three Premier League matches last season to decide that Jadon Sancho just wasn't worthy of a place in the matchday squad anymore. Off-field actions to follow meant that the relationship was never repaired.
For Ruben Amorim, Marcus Rashford has had four league outings. He started the first two before being named on the bench for the next two. He scored three times in there as well.
Against Viktoria Plzen on Thursday night he lasted less than an hour before being taken off. There was no embrace from the head coach as Rashford went off. Some United fans, left unimpressed with his display, were heard booing from the away section.
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Three days later and Rashford was left out entirely. Amorim had been clear with much of his rotation heading into the Manchester derby on Sunday, explaining that it was a way to look at all his players rather than an early hierarchy appearing.
He offered less cover for Rashford and also Alejandro Garnacho at the Etihad Stadium. Both players were totally absent against Manchester City having been made to train earlier in the day.
Garnacho missing was not a decision made as retaliation against reports of team news leaks coming from himself, his camp, or his brother, it is understood. Instead, Amorim said that the call was made due to simply selection.
"We tried to evaluate everything," he clarified prior to the match. "Training, performance, game performance. Engagement with the team-mates, push the team-mates up. Everything is on the line when we analyse and try to choose the players. So, my selection - simple.
"I don't want to send a message, it is simply evaluation and they know it. The players are really, really smart and so everybody understands my decision and I have to choose. It's just simple selection.
"Of course the context is difficult, we have to win games and we have a difficult situation now, but like I said, I pay attention to everything. The way you eat, the way you put your clothes to go to the game. Everything. I make my evaluation and then I have to decide. I have a lot of players to choose and today I made my choice.
"It's the same all the time, they all understand there's a communication that after the last training is going to the WhatsApp and then they receive the information. They are alright, they had training this morning, I was there because it is important for every player - even Jonny Evans because Jonny Evans also and Toby [Collyer] was there - I was there during training and everything was OK. They trained really well."
He added to MUTV: "Yes, of course we have an idea [of who should be playing]. With a lot of games you have to manage all the players and you more or less have an idea of what players to use.
"But they decide their futures. So if they play well, they train well, they will play at the weekend and they did that. We just want to try and win the game and try to choose the best players to do that.
"I choose the players, but they decide, they have the power. If they do well during the season, during the week training and playing the right way, they will play and have the opportunity. I have to make my choices and my choice for today is this starting XI."
It means that for the second time in just over 12 months, a United manager has come out and openly effectively criticised the level of effort in training of high-profile figures. For Sancho, it was his personal reaction - via a message online after Ten Hag's comments - that made things spiral.
Rashford and Garnacho at not at the stage where they are being exiled but it is telling and worrying that even under a fresh face there hasn't been the desired reaction behind the scenes, or so Amorim says. Ten Hag's way of dealing with Sancho's application and his response to being dropped, was to take the firm route.
There is no suggestion Amorim will have to go as far yet. Neither Garnacho or Rashford have offered their own thoughts or side to the story at the time or writing - again, separating this in a way from the Sancho incident - but there is a clear overlap.
This is a Manchester derby, an enormous game if not for the table then for bragging rights and optics. Sancho was cut adrift away to Arsenal, a match of similarly huge magnitude.
The news, which stems from Amorim's strong decision and statement moment as boss so far, threatened to overshadow derby day before the Amad-inspired late comeback. United went on to lose the game at Arsenal when Sancho was left out, only adding to the attention.
This time around Amorim has been backed up by his decision. The attention and onus will now be on Rashford and Garnacho to turn things around and to stop things from escalating in a way that has already brought one career at the club to an end.