Manchester, England – Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has made a surprising admission, stating that he would rather select his 63-year-old goalkeeping coach over Marcus Rashford for the matchday squad due to the forward’s perceived lack of effort.
Rashford has been omitted from the matchday squad for six consecutive matches and was absent once again for Sunday’s 1-0 victory over Fulham.
“It’s always the same reason – the training, the way I see a footballer should do in life. It’s every day, every detail,” Amorim said when questioned about Rashford’s absence. “If things don’t change, I will not change. It’s the same situation for every player, if you do the maximum and right things we can use every player. You can see on the bench we miss a bit of pace on the bench, but I would put [Manchester United goalkeeper coach Jorge] Vital before a player who doesn’t give the maximum every day.”
While sources close to Rashford have denied any issues with Amorim, the manager’s strong words have raised eyebrows.
With the January transfer window nearing its close, Rashford’s future at Manchester United remains uncertain. A potential move to AC Milan has been complicated by the arrival of Kyle Walker, while a loan move to Barcelona faces obstacles.
Amorim himself has faced challenges since taking over as manager, with the team struggling to find consistency. Sunday’s narrow victory over Fulham provided a much-needed boost, but Amorim acknowledged that there is still much work to be done.
“Today was not the best match but we managed to win,” Amorim said. “The important thing is I have a clear idea of what I want to do. Sometimes I’m frustrated. We want to play a different style and we are going to play different style in the future.”
With the transfer window closing soon, Manchester United are yet to make any significant signings. The club has been linked with potential moves for players like Patrick Dorg and Christopher Nkunku, but Amorim emphasized the need for caution in the transfer market.
“We have to be cautious,” he added. “We did make mistakes in the past and we cannot do it now.”
