By Jack Flintham
Ruben Amorim has been pictured arriving at Carrington on Friday, preparing the club’s iconic training ground in a similar way to a teacher before their pupils return.
He would have hoped that his Manchester United squad would look significantly different when they returned for pre-season, but that is unlikely to be the case. Other than Matheus Cunha and Diego Leon joining the group, there remains a lack of fresh faces coming to Carrington next week.
Fortunately for Amorim, one awkward reunion has – at least – been pushed back until later this month. That’s with Marcus Rashford.
Earlier this year, the working relationship between Rashford and Amorim fell apart right in front of our eyes as the United head coach lost his patience with the England international. After dropping him for the Manchester derby, the Portuguese did not see the reaction he expected – even suggesting that he would rather place his 63-year-old goalkeeping coach Jorge Vital on the subs bench ahead of him.
Since his subsequent loan move to Aston Villa, it’s believed Rashford and Amorim have not conversed and there has been no movement on a proposed sale either. It looked likely that, for the first time since the winter window move, the duo were going to be in the same building on Monday.
That won’t not be the case, though, as The Manchester Evening News understands that Rashford is one of five players who have informed the club that they wish to leave this summer. With this in mind, his return has been pushed back to later this month and, thus, the timeline for his departure has been set.
The Manchester Evening News also understands that United are handing Rashford’s iconic No.10 shirt to Matheus Cunha and that decision will be made official – you would think – before they play Leeds in Stockholm on July 19. The ongoing worry for United is that this relationship between themselves and Rashford might become awkward, and potentially ugly, if the forward does not leave.
When Raheem Sterling was stripped of his number by Enzo Maresca at Chelsea last summer, that was seen as disrespectful and the 30-year-old does not have the same legacy at Stamford Bridge as Rashford at Old Trafford. United pride themselves on treating academy graduates well when they eventually move on, but this might come back to haunt them if Rashford can’t find another club.
Barcelona and Bayern Munich are showing an interest, but United need those teams – or others – to come in and make Rashford an offer before he returns to Carrington. Barcelona is the England regular’s dream choice and after Nico Williams committed his long-term future to Athletic Bilbao, that deal could still happen.
For the time being, though, United are stuck in a position where they could be forced to reintegrate Rashford into their squad. That can’t be allowed to happen, and so United know what they need to do – sell Rashford quickly and avoid potential headaches if he returns.
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