Since Alexis Sánchez joined José Mourinho’s merry men, a lot of disharmony has arisen in the United squad. The Chilean has waltzed in from the Emirates, become the club’s highest paid player and guaranteed himself a starting spot on a weekly basis. His arrival has forced other players like Marcus Rashford to be thrown to the outskirts. Marcus Rashford is too talented a player to be sitting on the bench, José Mourinho must bring him back into the fold for several reasons.
Here’s why Marcus Rashford needs to be reintegrated into the squad.
It’s incredible to think that Manchester United are 16 points behind Manchester City in the league, despite having a plethora of attacking talent. Names like Romelu Lukaku, Alexis Sánchez, Juan Mata, Anthony Martial, Jesse Lingard, Zlatan Ibrahimović & Marcus Rashford mean United have one of the best-attacking departments in the WORLD. With such talent available, not everyone gains the sufficient playing time required.
Since bursting on the scene in 2015, Marcus Rashford has shown the whole world why he’s one of the most highly-touted young talents around. At 18 years of age, Rashford took the Premier League by storm, showing maturity well above his age bracket. The youngster is pacey, direct, a great ball carrier, a composed finisher, hard-working and versatile in the attacking positions.
In his senior Manchester United career, the Englishman has scored 29 goals, mostly from wide positions. Under Louis van Gaal he was a golden child that could do no wrong, under José Mourinho he’s turned into an inexperienced winger that may not be cut out for life in Manchester. Now when the youngster takes the field, he’s only given 10 or 15 minutes to impact the game. And in those cameos, Mourinho has the Englishman tracking opposition full-backs.
The 20-year-old hasn’t started a game since Boxing Day, so even a few weeks before the arrival of Alexis Sánchez, Rashford was being sidelined by the gaffer. Despite not being able to start many games, Rashford has still made 38 appearances in all competitions, scoring a respectable 10 goals.
If it’s not Alexis Sánchez or Jesse Lingard, it’s Anthony Martial that’s taking Marcus Rashford’s spot in the line-up. The Frenchman himself has had his public problems with José Mourinho, resulting in him being benched too. But since the turn of the year, Martial has found himself being trusted with more opportunities to start, much to the pleasure of the United fanbase.
With the World Cup nearly upon us, it’s imperative that Marcus Rashford starts to receive more game time to ensure he’s on the plane to Russia. However, José Mourinho doesn’t seem to share the same sentiment.
“There are many examples of players who don’t play for their clubs at all, and they go to the national teams.”
Mourinho believes that Rashford will be selected by Gareth Southgate because he trusts him. For the sake of the youngster’s career, let’s hope he’s right. Because Gareth Southgate stated Jack Wilshere couldn’t play for England if he didn’t start for Arsenal, I wonder if he’s since changed his stance.
