Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim believes Marcus Rashford still has a future at the Theatre of Dreams despite expressing a desire to leave.
Rashford has endured a difficult 18 months with the England international failing to play at the highest level. With various rumours linking Rashford out of the club, he was left out of the squad for last weekend’s Manchester derby by Amorim.
The 27-year-old would go on to admit in an interview earlier this week that he was “ready for a new challenge”, casting serious doubt on his future at Old Trafford.
Amorim has now stressed that he would like Rashford to stay – even though he was once again absent from United’s squad on Thursday, where they were eliminated from the Carabao Cup by Tottenham.
Speaking after the dramatic 4-3 defeat, Amorim was asked if a parting of ways was best for both the club and Rashford. He told Sky Sports: “Tomorrow we have training, he will be there preparing for next game. He is a United player, everyone has a future at Man United.”
The Portuguese coach expressed similar sentiments in the build-up to Thursday night’s match. Amorim admitted that Rashford should probably have spoken to him privately about his desire for a new challenge.
“Nothing has changed – we believe in Marcus,” said Amorim. “It’s hard to explain to you guys what I am going to do. I’m a little bit emotional so in the moment I will decide what to do.
“It’s a hard situation to comment [on]. If I give a lot of importance it will have big headlines in the papers and if I say it’s not a problem then my standards are getting low.”
He added: “I don’t talk about the future, we talk about the present. This kind of club needs big talent and he’s a big talent, so he just needs to perform at the highest level and that is my focus. I just want to help Marcus.”
