Manchester United drama: Jose Mourinho doesn’t trust Marcus Rashford
Marcus Rashford can’t find a starting spot at Manchester United
Lost in the drama of Manchester United’s highly publicized pursuit of Antoine Griezmann is the subtle message the club’s transfer policy is sending to Marcus Rashford. Jose Mourinho’s clear obsession with purchasing a young striker this summer proves he doesn’t trust the talented, young English international.
United, of course, have struck out in their efforts to bring Griezmann to England. The reaffirmation of Atletico Madrid’s summer transfer ban made it clear the Frenchman would remain with his current club. In the aftermath of United’s disappointment, Mourinho has reportedly identified bringing in a classic centre forward as his new summer priority.
The first two names on the club’s new list are Romelu Lukaku and Alvaro Morata. Both players are out-and-out strikers. Both men also happen to be quite young. If United are able to secure either player’s services, it would be a massive blow to Marcus Rashford’s hopes of earning a starting spot.
Give Mourinho credit for trying to carve out playing time for Rashford this season. Even before Zlatan Ibrahimovic went out with injury, The Special One worked to find minutes for the talented Englishman. In the end he managed to earn 32 Premier League appearances including 16 starts. 11 Europa League appearances also helped to give Rashford time to shine.
In truth, the results were mixed. He only managed to score five goals in the League and his Whoscored.com player rating average of 6.58 was decidedly mediocre. It certainly wasn’t a continuation of Rashford’s meteoric rise to stardom.
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The main thing that we really learned about Rashford this season is that he is a true number nine. Mourinho gave him significant playing time on the wing, but it never really paid off. He managed some success playing out on the left, but he looks much more comfortable playing centrally.
Given that reality, the acquisition of a more accomplished young centre forward this summer could cripple his chances of ascending to stardom at United. Fans of the club will claim he should stay and bide his time, but would that really be in his best interest? There are a number of big clubs across Europe who would be more than happy to purchase him and provide him an opportunity to be their featured starter at the striker position.
The best Rashford can really hope for at United next season is to fill the same backup role he managed this year. He’s only going to be content with that role for a limited amount of time. The talented starlet might well tire of playing second fiddle by the time December rolls around.
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Marcus Rashford still has a chance of carving out a starting position at Manchester United, but his chances don’t look too good. Jose Mourinho’s obsession with bringing in a different striker should tell Rashford all he needs to know about his standing with the club.