Tag: ousted

Marcus Rashford’s future at Manchester United is ultimately down to the club’s board, although a joint decision will be taken with Ruben Amorim over whether he stays or leaves.

Amorim has dropped the 27-year-old forward in Man Utd’s last four games and speculation is growing that he could leave Old Trafford in the January window.

From a football perspective, there is no interference or pressure on Amorim from the board. It’s entirely up to the Man Utd head coach whether to pick Rashford or not. But when it comes to a possible exit, TEAMtalk understands it will be a joint decision between manager and the club’s leadership team.

Regardless of a player’s stature or their wage or their standing, Amorim is looking at form, both in training and, of course, in matches as well, when choosing his line-ups.

The manager is effectively making a statement by omitting the likes of Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho and Tyrell Malacia – showing all players what standards he expect to get selected. He made similar calls with Sporting CP, such as when he dropped Islam Slimani to the reserves in 2022.

Rashford has been recalled to the Man Utd squad for their game against Newcastle by Amorim and it will be interesting to see whether he gets minutes. It would be unusable, if a Rashford exit is already planned in January, to play a £40m+ asset and risk injury. We may see clues therefore as to Rashford’s future based on how involved he is in the game, and also any full-time scenes given it could, realistically, be his last game at Old Trafford.

The Red Devils are in a strong position with Rashford given he’s under contract until 2028 and a minimum bid of £40million would be required for them to consider a permanent January sale.

READ MORE: Marcus Rashford exit talk ramps up as Shearer makes big Amorim claim amid ‘not healthy’ Man Utd situation

Man Utd could loan Rashford out in January

Another factor to consider regarding Rashford’s future is the fact that he is on significant wages of £325,000 per week. If you add his wage to the £40m price tag on his head, there’s a very limited pool of suitors that could afford that.

TEAMtalk understands that there is a possibility that Rashford could be loaned out in January with an option or obligation to buy included in the deal. A similar wage-split would be done to the deal Chelsea did with Arsenal for Raheem Sterling this past summer. Manchester United have not ruled out contributing to Rashford’s wages if the right suitor and structure emerges, but we are not close to this point yet given the club are yet to receive any formal approaches.

Rashford’s situation is not cut and dry and a January exit is not guaranteed. Amorim is essentially saying to Rashford that if he can show the right application in training then the door is open for him to return to playing regularly with the first team again.

But whether he stays or goes, Rashford’s future will undoubtedly be a major story in January,.

Paris Saint-Germain have been heavily linked with the forward of late but their interest in Rashford is a historical one, rather than a recent development.

In that enquiry, it was PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi who was leading the conversations with Rashford’s camp. The talks took place just before Rashford signed his latest contract extension, in 2023, and about six months later. On both occasions, PSG felt they were being used as leverage. The French giants will NOT go back in for Rashford unless he gives a clear indication that he wants the move. They are also moving away from signing superstar names on big wages and are focusing on younger, hungrier players in their recruitment. The mantra is essentially ‘buy young and where possible buy French’ with Desire Doue a perfect example. That means Rashford’s age could ultimately count against him as far as the French champions are concerned.

Three Saudi clubs interested in Rashford

Clubs from Saudi Arabia have previously made enquiries about Rashford and at that point, the player made it clear that he was not willing to go there. It would therefore take a U-turn for Rashford to decide to join a Saudi side mid-season, and going to the Saudi Pro League would call into question his England chances.

TEAMtalk understands that three Saudi clubs remain interested in Rashford. Any negotiations would be done through the central deal makers in Saudi, who are waiting to see whether Rashford gives any kind of green light or encouragement that he wants a move.

Al-Ahli, who want to sign a left-winger, are attentive to Rashford’s situation. They’re also interested in Atalanta’s Ademola Lookman, but that’s far more ambitious, and the expectation is that Lookman is not going to go anywhere in the January period. Al-Ahli would also have to de-register or sell a foreigner to sign Rashford, as their foreign quota is full.

Al-Ittihad, meanwhile, were previously interested in Rashford but they now have Stephen Bergwijn, who’s performing well for them currently, so they’re covered well in that position now.

Finally, Al Qadsiah, who are not a PIF club but have very wealthy owners in Aramco, are also interested in Rashford, so they could be one to watch.

A move to another Premier League club is less likely for Rashford. Tottenham did show interest in Rashford several years ago but now, Arsenal are the side most heavily linked with him. It is true that they may need to strengthen on the left and right wings, but Rashford isn’t a concrete target for them at this stage.

TEAMtalk understands that it is unlikely that Man Utd will wish to do business with another Premier League club mid-season, even though they offloaded Jadon Sancho to Chelsea, and did so knowing the obligation to buy is basically guaranteed because the Blues just have to finish 15th or better.

Man Utd are yet to receive any kind of inquiry or formal offer for Rashford. As mentioned, they could consider loaning him out and may agree to pay a percentage of his wages, but it will be interesting to see how involved he is in their coming matches and whether he can end the year by making a positive impact against Newcastle.

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