Patrick Rees
Former Liverpool midfielder Jamie Redknapp has adviced Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford to leave the club if the youngster intends to play more regular first-team football.
Manchester United recently signed Alexis Sanchez in a straight swap deal with Arsenal which saw Henrikh Mkhitaryan travel the other way, and according to Redknapp, the arrival of the Chilean, in one way or the other, will affect Rashford’s game time.
Only a few days back, former Manchester United midfielder Paul Ince had said that the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford are all worried about their places after Sanchez’s arrival. But Redknapp suggests that only Marcus Rashford of all names is expected to suffer.
Rashford, who made his Manchester United debut back in February 2016 under Louis van Gaal, has been an ‘in and out’ presence for the club this season, having played 24 Premier League games thus far (13 starts). Most recently, Rashford was deployed as the lone striker in United’s 4-0 win over Yeovil Town in the 4th round of the FA Cup and the youngster had a decent outing, to say the least.
Having said that, Liverpool midfielder Jamie Redknapp now believes that Rashford’s game-time will only decrease from here on as Sanchez is well and truly expected to take the left-wing slot ahead of the youngster and Anthony Martial.
“I just feel for people like Marcus Rashford. They go down the pecking order and he’s probably thinking, ‘Where do I fit in now’,” Redknapp was quoted by the Mirror.
“Part of the Premier League is having these players but I just feel sorry when someone like Rashford is going to be thinking, ‘This is another pathway blocked for me.’
“He might have to go in the end. It doesn’t help your confidence. Every time you are training, you think, ‘I’m not going to play on Saturday.’ This is a great talent, make no mistake. I speak to players who go to the England camp with him and they are as impressed with him as anybody.
“He probably needs to go and play football somewhere. It is a shame but that’s modern day football and that’s why it’s so hard for young British players to get opportunities.”
Jose Mourinho has, time and again, heaped praise on Rashford, hence there is no denying the fact that he rates him highly. However, Redknapp is somewhere right in his assessment given that at his age, Rashford would need some regular first-team football to nurture himself for the future.
United have two of the biggest talents in Rashford and Martial. The duo is capable of playing the No.9 role but Romelu Lukaku’s presence will never allow Mourinho to hand them that place.
It will be interesting to see how Mourinho now handles the youngsters.
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