Erik ten Hag understood why Marcus Rashford was omitted from England’s Euro 2024 squad (Picture: NOS)
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag suggested Marcus Rashford deserved to be omitted from Gareth Southgate’s England squad for Euro 2024 after his poor club form last season.
Alongside former Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson, Rashford represented the big-name casualty from Southgate’s original 33-man training squad.
It came after a season blighted with off-field incidents where the forward scored just eight goals in all competitions having netted 30 times the season prior.
Other stalwarts of Southgate’s England side in recent years, including Manchester City’s Jack Grealish, were left out of the final 26-man squad for Germany but Ten Hag took no issue with the England manager’s decisions.
‘Grealish and Rashford out? They were both lacking this season, it’s clear,’ he told NOS Studio Voetbal before England’s 1-0 win against Serbia.
‘And when you are lacking, you risk not getting picked for your country.’
The Dutchman himself enjoyed a tricky season at the Old Trafford helm, failing to guide his United side back into European qualification and finishing a lowly eighth in the Premier League.
Rashford was left out after a poor season at Manchester United (Picture: Getty)
A shock victory in the FA Cup final, however, may well have saved his job at the club, with INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe choosing to keep faith with the 54-year-old after a protracted end-of-season review.
The club held talks with former Bayern Munich and Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel but will now attempt to thrash out the terms of a new contract with Ten Hag.
‘It was a turbulent season,’ he said. ‘I was able to take a bit of a holiday. This week, United suddenly showed up on my doorstep. That they would like to continue with me.’
On the progress surrounding a new contract, Ten Hag added: We have spoken well and various topics have been on the table.
‘The conclusion is that we are going to sit down to extend the contract. We still have to reach an agreement, because that has not been done easily. Let’s talk about it some more.’
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