REUTERS/Phil Noble
Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford has been told he is 'vulnerable' to losing his starting spot after an underwhelming performance against Fulham on Sunday. Rashford has struggled to be productive since coming back into the Old Trafford fold, having failed to land a move away from the club during the summer.
The England international scored 14 and assisted as many during a loan spell at Barcelona last season, and there was talk he was reviving his still relatively young career, but those goals and assists did come for a brilliant Barca team. Barca decided not to sign Rashford in the summer, instead signing Anthony Gordon on a much more pricey deal, and Rashford returned to United after having a decent World Cup with England.
The Red Devils were willing to sell, with Rashford having a huge deal at Old Trafford, but offers were not forthcoming, and he has remained at the club, becoming a starter under Michael Carrick. United have been poor as a collective, only winning one of their five Premier League games, but Rashford has struggled, and former Red Devils striker Michael Owen says the England international is the most vulnerable to losing his starting spot as Carrick contemplates changes.
Action images via Reuters
"On the left, Marcus Rashford has been probably the quietest of those attackers," Owen said on Premier League Productions. "He was quiet again today in his body language, just the glum face. He just doesn’t seem to be loving his football which has been a permanent frustration with Marcus.
"It does look like the weight of the world is on his shoulders and you just think how? Why? He’s living everybody’s dream. Surely there’s something behind the scenes that is making him look as if he’s not enjoying his football at the moment. Rahford's Premier League stats this season
Goals: 0
Expected goals: 1.7
Shots: 13
Shots on target: 3
Key passes: 1.48 per game
Take-on success: 90%
"Last chance saloon was Barcelona [where Rashford spent last season on loan]. I couldn’t believe his luck in getting a team like Barcelona. He does reasonably well out there, but not well enough for them to keep him and then they end up spending fortunes to replace him by buying Anthony Gordon. So, it wasn’t all perfect. It wasn’t all rosy despite any spin that people put on it. And then he comes back to Manchester United.
He’s done okay, but only okay. And he needs to probably do a little bit better in that front three because his is the position in the attack that would be vulnerable.
"There’s a bit of a demand for Benjamin Sesko to come back in and start, injury permitting of course. But if that happens, Cunha is going to go on the left and Rashford would be the weak link in that attack as things stand."
benjamin sesko manchester united
benjamin sesko manchester united