The pros and cons of selling Marcus Rashford

Marcus Rashford's time at Man Utd might be coming to an end, or maybe not?

There have been rumours of Rashford's Old Trafford exit swirling for a long time now due to the forward's poor form and sullen demeanour.

New Man Utd head coach Ruben Amorim amplified the noise when he left Rashford out of the matchday squad to face Man City, though he insists it was not a disciplinary measure but rather a motivational one.

READ MORE: Marcus Rashford: Truth behind Amorim’s ‘clothes’ and ‘lifestyle’ comments

With the January transfer window right around the corner, the talk is only intensifying as every day goes by.

But would selling Marcus Rashford be a good idea or a bad one? What are the pros and cons? FootballTransfers has a look...

Pro: A new challenge for Rashford

Marcus Rashford looks exhausted. Not just physically, but mentally. After suffering for years to carry Man Utd through good and bad periods, through different managers and playing styles and positions, through goal droughts and purple patches and a broken back... he finally looks done.

Whether it was Erik Ten Hag's man management, his friends Jadon Sancho and Jesse Lingard being bullied out of the club, or a general malaise and discontent with life in general, he looks like he needs a fresh start.

"I'm ready for a new challenge," were Rashford's own words as he spoke to Henry Winter at a charity event this week. And at this point that really does seem like it's what the striker needs. So why not give it to him?

Con: Losing a peak-age world-class talent

Well, because he's Marcus Rashford! Yes, he's in a terrible run of form right now, but Man Utd are looking for a fresh start themselves and a peak-age world-class talent (and yes, he is) should be a foundational piece of that.

Like Ruben Amorim himself said: "We have here a new challenge. It's a tough one," pointing out that there's work to do at Old Trafford: "This kind of club needs big talent and [Rashford] is a big talent. He just needs to perform at the highest level."

With these quotes in mind, dropping Rashford was clearly intended to be motivational. And you can see why: squads that are primarily composed of veterans and youngsters usually struggle. You need those peak-age players to be playing like peak age players, even if it's just one or two, because it sets a tone and culture for the whole club.

Look at the difference in Man City with Rodri out hurt. That's not just his tactical abilities. Or see how different Barcelona look now Raphinha has taken a huge step up in consistency? Rashford is 27 and just two years removed from a 30-goal season.

You gonna let that talent walk? Maybe even to a rival like Paris Saint-Germain or Barcelona themselves? There was even talk of going to Arsenal! You want to put a shotgun in Mikel Arteta's hands? He'll blow your head off with it!

Pro: Money

Man Utd need to sign new players and a lot of them. For that they need money. And since the club let Erik ten Hag cling to his job and then spend hundreds of millions of pounds in the transfer market, they may need to make a few sales.

READ MORE: Roy Keane says Man Utd should SELL Marcus Rashford

Complicating sales is the concept of amortisation, where a transfer fee is paid off over the life of a contract (or 5 years, as per the new Premier League rules). This means if you sell a player before their fee is paid off, part of the sale goes towards paying the fee off.

Not so with youth academy products. They cost the club 0 transfer fee, and so with nothing to amortise all of their sale price is recorded as pure profit, meaning that on the books clubs have more money to spend.

Rashford is a youth product straight out of Carrington. Even if Man Utd could only get £40m for him, that would be £40m of straight profit they could flip into a couple of new signings.

Con: Also Money

Here's the thing: if you sell Marcus Rashford then you have to replace him. He's a proven goalscorer and the squad is in desperate need of those.

So while you'd like to use the Rashford money to sign a dedicated wing-back and central midfielder to fit Ruben Amorim's system, you'd also have to sign a goalscoring forward.

READ MORE: Man Utd to use Amorim connection to fix problem position

Now you're juggling money and how much you can spend, which you're already doing, so what is even the point of getting rid of a talent like Rashford if you'll only have to do the same thing again.

Pro: Sends a strong message

The big pro about selling Marcus Rashford, the second-best player in the Man Utd team and the one with the biggest name and reputation, is that it shows no one is safe under Ruben Amorim if they don't pull their weight.

If the club are willing to offload a name and talent as big as Rashford because he isn't working hard enough or coming with the right attitude, then no one at the club is safe. Ergo everyone will have to give 100% all the time, because otherwise they're gone.

That's a good kind of culture to establish early on. You just gotta start winning games and things can start rolling your way very quickly.

Con: Validates fan toxicity

The levels of vitriol aimed at Marcus Rashford by members of his own club's fanbase has been a disgrace. Man Utd fans launching attack after attack on Rashford, blaming him for all the club's trials and tribulations. For reasons that make very little sense, they want Marcus Rashford out of their football club.

Selling him lets the worst people in the world feel like they won. Selling Marcus Rashford perhaps emboldens those kind of people to do it again.

Who will be their next sacrificial lamb to blame when things aren't going perfectly? Will United sell them too? Where does it end?