Marcus Rashford has less than a week to save his career at Old Trafford. The England striker could choose to leave Manchester United to find a new destination.
If he chooses to stay, Rashford will have to accept Ruben Amorim’s devastating assessment of him and make changes both on and off the pitch. Failure in both areas could see Rashford’s once promising career come to a standstill.
At 27 years old and with his form declining over the past 18 months, Rashford doesn't have much playing time left. And clearly, Amorim doesn't want to make concessions to please the "Red Devils' highest paid player".
Asked after United's 1-0 win over Fulham whether Rashford had any chance of getting back into the team, with Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee both struggling, Amorim almost shook his head. Amorim gave a bitter assessment of the impression Rashford has left since he became United manager two months ago.
"It's always the same reason: the training process, the way I see a player should do in life. It's every day, every detail. If things don't change, I won't change. It's the same for every player, if you do everything right and to the maximum, we can use every player.
You can see on the bench we lack a bit of pace. But I would rather put goalkeeper coach Jorge Vital on the bench than use a player who doesn't contribute every day," said the Portuguese tactician.
Amorim's views on Rashford have been scathing since he left the striker out of the derby against Manchester City at the end of December. The 27-year-old was also absent again against Fulham, and Hojlund's poor performance exposed United's lack of cutting edge in attack.
Generally speaking, it doesn't matter who scores as long as the team wins or at least avoids defeat. But the problem for Amorim and Man United right now is that the players who are expected to score goals are showing no signs of doing so.
With three years remaining on his £325,000-a-week contract at Old Trafford, Rashford is unlikely to leave. With three weeks of the January transfer window gone, Rashford has yet to make any further progress.
Rashford hopes Barcelona will increase their interest by selling players to free up wage bills, but there is no guarantee that will happen.
Rashford hasn't played for United since the Europa League win over Viktoria Plzen on 12 December 2024, but the onus is now on him to change that. Rashford can leave or do what Amorim wants.
The Red Devils do not have the financial resources to sign a proven player this month, so there will be no Viktor Gyokeres or Victor Osimhen arriving at Old Trafford in the coming days, despite Amorim desperately needing a player of that calibre to bolster their squad.
