On Sunday, new Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim sent a clear message to England international Marcus Rashford.
By leaving the 27-year-old out of the United squad altogether for the all-important derby against Man City, it was clear the new boss doesn’t have a place for Rashford in his future plans.
It appears now that Rashford, too, is hoping to part ways in the near future.
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Having been at Manchester United his entire career, nearly 20 years as a graduate of the club’s academy, the two sides could be heading for an exit, potentially as soon as this winter.
Rashford himself made that clear when speaking to English journalist Henry Winter at a charity event on Tuesday.
“For me, personally, I think I’m ready for a new challenge and the next steps,” Rashford said when asked of recent reports that United are looking to find a new home for him.
During the interview with Winter, Rashford used language like “when I leave” instead of caveating with hypotheticals using “if,” hinting strongly that he knows what lies on the horizon.
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“When I leave it’s going to be ‘no hard feelings,'” Rashford said. “You’re not going to have any negative comments from me about Manchester United. That’s me as a person. If I know that a situation is already bad I’m not going to make it worse. I’ve seen how other players have left in the past and I don’t want to be that person. When I leave I’ll make a statement and it will be from me.”
While Amorim tried to downplay Rashford’s exclusion from the squad on Sunday, saying “I don’t want to send a message” and it’s “just a simple selection,” he made it painstakingly clear that he feels Rashford, and Alejandro Garnacho, who was also left out of the squad, have not impressed him thus far.
“I want to improve my players and you understand that for so long we tried,” Amorim said after the Man City win. “For example, with Rash. It does not work. Let’s continue to do the same thing or try something different? So it’s as simple as that. We have to improve our standards outside the pitch.”
This is a situation that seems like it has only one conclusion come the January transfer window.