Manchester United’s off-season to-do list is looking daunting, to say the least.
The Red Devils’ 14th defeat of the Premier League season saw them lose 4-1 at Newcastle United on Sunday, with the club’s aims during the final six games of the domestic season set to be all about avoiding their lowest-ever number of wins and points for a Premier League season.
Europe could prove to be their saving grace, as they are currently preparing to take on Lyon in the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final. After drawing 2-2 in France in the first leg, Ruben Amorim knows that victory in the competition will deliver both silverware and a place in next season’s Champions League.
Marcus Rashford set for showdown talks
Come the end of the season, the spotlight will fall on what the club does in the transfer market, as Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his Ineos team continue their work of attempting to turn the club’s fortunes around.
New players, ones who fit into Amorim’s specific 3-4-3 system, will be needed, while there are plenty of high-earners in the squad that will need to be moved on, with the club’s cost-cutting measures seen in recent months highlighting the need to improve their financial position.
The future of Marcus Rashford will also need to be resolved, as the England forward nears the end of his Aston Villa loan spell which came about after a falling out with Amorim.
Rashford was omitted from the Manchester United squad earlier in the season with Amorim accusing him of having a poor attitude in training, after the 27-year-old had spoken out about his desire to seek a fresh challenge.
Rashford has turned out 14 times for Villa, netting three times, with Unai Emery’s club having a reported £40million option to make his move permanent this summer, but according to the Daily Star, he will hold showdown talks with Amorim this summer, should the Villans decline to take up their option.
The report adds that in this scenario, the two parties would look to clear the air before Manchester United’s pre-season tour of the United States, with club bosses keen for the pair to resolve their differences.
In FourFourTwo’s opinion, a mending of the way between Rashford and Amorim would appear unlikely due to what was said prior to his January departure, but both should be professional enough to attempt to mend these bridges in the summer, if Rashford does end up returning from his loan spell.
Rashford is currently valued at €50million by Transfermarkt and has shown enough signs of recapturing his best form at Villa, which perhaps is telling, as he looks to be responding well to a new challenge, indicating that his future may indeed be best served away from Old Trafford.
