Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has pointed the finger at Marcus Rashford’s entourage for advising him to conduct an interview about his future at the club.
After Rashford was dropped from the matchday squad for the Manchester derby, he went public with his desire for a “new challenge”, admitting his departure from the club was a case of “when”, rather than “if”.
Amorim has since left Rashford out of his last two squads but has refused to close the door to the 27-year-old, who he believes should question the advice given by those close to him.
“It is a hard situation,” Amorim told Sky Sports. “I understand that these players have a lot of people around them, making choices that are not the first idea from the player.
“I am always here to help Marcus as another player. I have to do what I have to do. They chose to do the interview as it is not just Marcus. I understand that. As a coach I focus on performance and the way you train. The rest, it is better for me and the club to deal with that when the time comes.
“At the moment I focus on improving Marcus and we need a talented guy like Marcus. I forget the interview now and see what I see on the pitch.”
United are reported to be open to selling Rashford in 2025 for around £40m, slashing their previous £100m valuation in an attempt to convince clubs to move for an out-of-form forward making well over £300,000 per week.
Co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is prepared to keep out of the entire situation, happy to let Amorim deal with selection issues despite the conundrum his ongoing omission of Rashford may cause.