England snub proof Rashford needs to leave Man Utd to salvage career

Tom Weber

Updated: 21 May 2024 14:38 BST
5 min read

Marcus Rashford has been left out of Gareth Southgate's provisional squad for Euro 2024.

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The Manchester United winger is coming off a dire season on both a personal and team level. After netting a whopping 30 goals in 2022/23, Rashford chipped in with a measly eight goals and five assists in 42 games across all competitions.

Man Utd finished the Premier League campaign in eighth and will miss out on European football if they lose the FA Cup final to Man City. Throughout the season, Rashford made negative headlines for his antics on and off the field, being caught partying in Belfast and subsequently calling in sick and often looking thoroughly disinterested during games.

United rewarded Rashford with a lucrative new contract last summer, but they could look to offload him if a suitable offer arrives this year, as revealed by FootballTransfers last month. It has been a rapid fall from grace for the 26-year-old and perhaps the rut can only be stopped by a change of scenery.

Rashford misses out on England squad

The Man Utd star's unimpressive form this term has now resulted in him missing out on Gareth Southgate's Euro 2024 squad along with the likes of Jordan Henderson and Reece James. Barring the need for an injury replacement, the 26-year-old will not travel to Germany with the Three Lions this summer.

Man Utd's new INEOS bosses believe that they can help Rashford rediscover his form of two seasons ago, but the sheer drop-off that was witnessed last term casts doubt on this. If Erik ten Hag stays on board as head coach, it seems unlikely that Rashford will become a difference-maker again despite the fact that his 30-goal season came under the Dutchman.

If Sir Jim Ratcliffe's recent comments are anything to go by, it certainly looks as though Ten Hag may survive beyond this season. Fabrizio Romano, meanwhile, believes that it is a '50-50 situation' and that the former Ajax boss could still be sacked after the FA Cup final.

Ten Hag's inability to get his team to create reproducible patterns of play is harming his forwards like Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund. Club legend Wayne Rooney recently pondered: "You wonder, is his best option to move away from the club and have a fresh start?"

Roy Keane, for his part, believes that Rashford needs some, shall we say, rougher treatment from the Man Utd hierarchy. “Who is giving him an old-fashioned kick up the a**e and saying ‘Come on, we need more from you?’ If you want to be this leader, and you’re on the big contracts, then there is that responsibility. I don’t think that is happening, I don’t think there is anybody on his case.”

Rashford must leave

This is unlikely to materialise at Man Utd, though. Rashford is the club's golden boy and the past nine months have shown that the attacker can get away with pretty much anything. This, then, begs the question of whether a move away would actually be better for Rashford or Man Utd.

Why would the player leave an environment in which he is comfortable and can do as he pleases? Does Rashford care about losing his England spot? We don't know, but the fact that he is available for transfer is a clear indication that Ratcliffe and company certainly are not indifferent to the whole situation and are not averse to getting rid of him.

It may be time to flip the conversation surrounding Rashford on its head. While most of the talk has been about the player and how he could revive his career elsewhere, perhaps it is worth considering the club's position as well. Indeed, maybe Man Utd need to shift the homegrown superstar - and one of their top earners - for the good of the club.

This, in turn, would also provide Rashford with ample opportunity to get back to his best. A fresh start, a change of scenery, new impulses and experiences could do wonders for Rashford the person and the player and it could also aid Man Utd's INEOS revolution in the process.