Shearer sends Rashford brutal Man Utd message after FA Cup absence

Cameron Smith

• 28 Jan 2024 17:52 GMT
• 3 min read

Alan Shearer believes Marcus Rashford must stop “wasting his talent” after the England international missed Manchester United’s FA Cup fourth round tie against Newport County.

Rashford, 26, was absent from training on Friday due to illness and he was omitted from Erik ten Hag’s matchday squad at Rodney Parade for the same reason.

However, the Man Utd forward was spotted at a nightclub in Belfast on Thursday night before missing Friday’s training session.

Before the clash against Newport, Ten Hag was keen to avoid adding to . He admitted to BBC Sport: “He reported ill. Let's say, it’s an internal matter, I’ll deal with it. It’s an internal matter.”

It is not the first time that Ten Hag has been forced to deal with a rift in the Man Utd squad this season, either. Jadon Sancho had a public bust-up with the Dutchman in September, while Anthony Martial has also fallen out with the Red Devils head coach.

Although Ten Hag was reserved when asked about Rashford, Newcastle United legend and BBC pundit Shearer didn’t hold back in his comments regarding the England forward.

What has Alan Shearer said about Marcus Rashford?

“If it’s an internal matter, you’d think something is up,” Shearer said to BBC Sport.

“There’s a huge talent in there with Marcus Rashford. We’ve seen him be disciplined last season when he was late to a meeting before a game but something is clearly wrong - either at home or in his relationship with the football club.

“He can’t keep doing this, he can’t keep wasting his talent because it’s not right. He needs strong management, someone to get hold of him and tell him there’ll be huge regrets come the end of his career if he continues doing this.

“You can’t keep doing it, it needs sorting now. Thirty goals last season, four this season. When I see him play, it looks like he’s got the world on his shoulders so it needs sorting now because he can’t really deal with it.”

Rashford has four goals and two assists in 20 Premier League games so far this season.