Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford is being touted for a loan spell away from Old Trafford and, in truth, he has likely had his last kick in a red shirt.
According to report a report from local outlet the Manchester Evening News, his most likely destinations are Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona and AS Monaco, with the club not expected to allow him to go to a fellow Premier League side.
Even if any of those proposed moves are a loan deal, however, it seems probable that the Red Devils’ academy product has played his last game for his boyhood club.
Any Manchester United return for Rashford seems a long way off
The saga over Rashford’s future truly gathered pace last month, when he and Alejandro Garnacho were left out of the squad for the Manchester derby just weeks after Ruben Amorim’s arrival at Old Trafford.
The head coach confirmed that it was not an injury-based absence, leading to questions about his future with the club. Rashford himself provided an answer directly, telling journalist Henry Winter: “For me, personally, I think I'm ready for a new challenge and the next steps.”
There are shades of Jadon Sancho’s situation here, who had a difference of views with the manager, then Erik ten Hag, before going on loan to Dortmund. He returned, made up with the Dutchman and played in pre-season, but his United career was all but finished, joining Chelsea on a loan-with-obligation-to-buy deal before the window closed.
Rashford has greater foundations at Old Trafford – he’s been in the club’s youth setup since the age of seven – but what counts against him is Amorim’s system.
It was personal differences and, in all likelihood, stubbornness from either side that prevented Sancho from being readmitted to the starting XI by Ten Hag, but Rashford is not a natural fit for the striker role, either no.10 slot or the wing-back position in the new coach’s structure, even if they do get over this hiccup.
There’s every chance Rashford goes abroad and puts on a show, much like Sancho did, but it will probably only serve to increase his summer sale value, rather than provide a platform to launch him back into Amorim’s plans.
In FourFourTwo’s opinion, it is an unfortunate way for a homegrown, locally born player to leave a club like United, bulging with talent from all corners of the globe.
But, in truth, it seems Rashford may just have reached the end of the line at Old Trafford, with Amorim taking on the thankless task of being the one to wave him goodbye.
Even before his exile from matchday squads, the 27-year-old didn’t look anywhere near the levels we know he’s capable of. Maybe a new challenge, and a new direction, is what’s best for all parties concerned.
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