Graeme Souness has suggested that a ‘proper club’ would take action against Marcus Rashford’s unwillingness to track back and sell the player on a new podcast.
The Red Devils star has come under fire at various pinch points this season for appearing to lose his man when Manchester United are forced to defend, most notably failing to follow Ross Barkley when pitted against the Luton Town player.
Footage circulated after his side’s 2-1 victory which appeared to show Barkley switching directions to circumvent the forward and easily slip past the England international.
Rashford again looked vulnerable during Chelsea‘s smash-and-grab victory against Erik ten Hag‘s team when he seemed unwilling to challenged Cole Palmer after the Blues starman picked up the ball and crossed the halfway line.
The 26-year-old’s complacency came when the scoreline was fixed at 3-2 to the visitors, but United would rue their ruthless snuffing out of the tie when the hosts hit back late through Palmer’s ingenuity in added time.
Marcus Rashford (right) has come under fire at times for his abilities tracking back (versus Ross Barkley in February)
Cole Palmer (centre) was able to explosively slip through Rashford’s grasp at Stamford Bridge
Graeme Souness wondered aloud as to whether Rashford was the same during training drills
Souness wondered aloud whether this was an afflicition throughout the squad in the wake of their dismal 4-0 humbling at the hands of Crystal Palace on Monday evening, even bringing United’s standout first-team player Bruno Fernandes into the debate.
‘Bruno Fernandes is a talented player, but would he fit into Manchester City’s team?’ Souness asked his co-hosts Simon Jordan and Troy Deeney on William Hill’s Three Up Front podcast. ‘He’s got the qualities to do that but does he have the appetite to do the hard yards, maybe we’ll never find out.
‘When I was a player, no one was given permission to not track back, you’d sprint forward, and even quicker coming back – no one was given a pass. I’d say that’s how it has been before my time and even now for the very best teams.
‘If you’re at a proper club with proper professionals, you’re doing that in training each day and if you’re not, they’ll come after you. The coach doesn’t even have to say it, that’s what happens at the big clubs.
‘This should be hammered into you in the training sessions, what Marcus Rashford showed against Ross Barkley when they played Luton a few weeks ago, means he must’ve been doing that in training.
‘If he was doing that at a proper football club, they’d be all over him to the point where there would be fallouts, and if they didn’t learn, they’d think about selling you.’
In a move which might have been incomprehensible only one season early, Man United could well look to move their academy graduate on from Old Trafford over the summer.
The 26-year-old has endured an uneven season on the heels of a dazzling 2022-23 campaign
The player is believed to be interested in staying at Old Trafford beyond the end of the season
The club – now led by Ineos billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe after his £1.3billion purchase of a 25 per cent stake handed him control of footballing operations – is thought to be open-minded about which players could leave during the upcoming window, and are planning a total overhaul ahead of next season.
As such, Rashford could find himself featuring away from his boyhood club for the first time in his senior career.
The player himself is believed to be resistant to the idea of a move, despite having struggled for consistent form this season on the heels of his blistering 30-goal 2022-23 campaign.
Sources close to Rashford last week claimed that no decision has been made on his future.
But the next move could come to the fore sooner rather than later, with Ratcliffe and his right-hand man Sir Dave Brailsford reportedly set for showdown talks with the player.
Ratcliffe is not said to have ‘given up’ on Rashford and is keen to discuss his recent struggles, with his on-pitch performances at times over-shadowed by happenings in his personal life, such as an trip to Belfast in January that saw the player pictured in a nightclub and later turn up late to training.
Constant assessment of Rashford’s form as well as his life away from the pitch has undoubtedly taken a toll on the prodigious talent.
In April, the forward shared a post on social media site X (formerly Twitter) in response to a post that called online abuse he had received from fan accounts ‘cruel’.
‘I appreciate your support!’ Rashford replied. ‘It is abuse and it has been (like this) for months. Enough is enough.’
Sir Jim Ratcliffe (centre right) is reportedly set for talks with the player over his future
Erik ten Hag (right) has also called upon supporters to give the England star their backing
Manager Ten Hag has also shared his support of his player, calling on fans to get behind him and boost him for a full return to form.
‘I have a lot of sympathy for Rashy, of course,’ Ten Hag said. ‘Last year he had a brilliant season, the best season of his career scoring 30 goals so you see what he is capable of.
‘This season he didn’t give the performances and people are very critical. I think we have to back him.
‘Everyone should back him and push him to get back to the levels he was last year.’
