Rashford debacle shows why Man Utd can never do anything right in the transfer market
Stefan Bienkowski
- Updated: 12 Mar 2022 09:09 CST
- 6 min read
Manchester United seem to have a new fiasco to deal with every week and this time around it seems to be Marcus Rashford that is now in the limelight.
The England international has struggled for form and game time at Old Trafford this season, which has led to reports suggesting that the Man Utd youth product may be forced to leave the club in the summer transfer window.
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Interim manager Ralf Rangnick then did little to quell such rumours this week, when he essentially suggested that Rashford would be free to leave if he wanted to go.
“The window is closed right now. Even if he and his agents or his family think about going to another club, well he can do that but in the summer,” he said.
"I like Marcus as a player. I've had a few in the past at former clubs where they had problems at one stage but it's our job to help him, to get the best Marcus Rashford that he can be."
However, unlike other clubs around England, Man Utd seem to add an extra bit of drama to all of their dealings and in the case of Rashford there was no exception.
Neville responds to Rashford rumours
Unlike at most clubs, where an out-of-form star leaving would be little more than a discussion about transfer fees and perhaps some regret over failed potential, Rashford’s supposed departure from Man Utd has kicked off an entire debate about the Old Trafford club’s identity.
Former defender Gary Neville took to twitter on Saturday to state that Rashford’s departure would be a “failure” of the club’s football department, as well as a very poor look for the player in question. The former England international then made a somewhat misguided suggestion that Rashford’s charity work off the pitch wouldn’t be as well received if he was at another club.
Rashford
1. A failure for United’s football department if he leaves
2. A very poor look for MR if he can’t get his form right to break into this team
3. MR/Team would be naive if they think his off-pitch voice will carry without the MU badge
Lose/Lose if he goes. Sort it out!— Gary Neville (@GNev2) March 12, 2022
However, it was Neville’s final point that made it clear that we were talking about a particularly Man Utd problem, when he said Rashford’s departure would be a “Lose/Lose” for all parties involved.
As if, rather than simply move on a player that isn’t performing, Man Utd had some sort of reputation to stand by and would have to put the hard work in to turn the player’s form around, rather than simply finding a replacement in the summer.
Needless to say, such remarks would be unlikely to surface at Manchester City or Chelsea, where players are dropped, sold and forgotten about on a seasonal basis in favour of cold, hard success on the pitch.
Such sentimentality still clings to Man Utd and in the case of Rashford it shows why the Old Trafford side let so much off-the-field drama and emotions get in the way of simply progressing on the pitch like a normal club.
