Marcus Rashford is again not in the Manchester United squad, while Alejandro Garnacho returns for the Carabao Cup quarter-final clash with Tottenham.
Both men were left out of the squad as United beat Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday, with Rashford’s future becoming headline news since.
The England international has openly said that he expects, and is ready for, his future to be away from the club and the debate now is over where he will move to rather than if he will leave.
Whether he will return to the Manchester United team at all is yet to be seen after Ruben Amorim left him out of the squad again on Thursday night.
However, the Portuguese said his choices were simply down to who he thought was best equipped for the clash with Spurs.
‘Selection. I choose the players that I feel that are ready to cope with the demands of playing a strong game,’ Amorim told Sky Sports. ‘I tried to visualise all week and then choose my players. Just selection.’
Amorim listed a number of reasons why the players were axed against City, including ‘training performance, game performances, engagement with teammates’ and he says the same factors always apply.
‘It’s always the same with every player, not just Marcus. In the end I have to make a selection and I did it.’
Amorim did say that Garnacho has impressed since the disappointment of missing the derby and has earned a place back on the bench in north London.
‘Good. Like the others. He’s prepared to play the game,’ said the manager. ‘I really liked the way he trained so it’s one more option for the offence.
‘He’s really fast, he’s good one-against-one, we need these kind of abilities from Garnacho. He’s ready to help us.’
On his future, Rashford told Henry Winter this week: ‘For me, personally, I think I’m ready for a new challenge and the next steps.
‘When I leave it’s going to be “no hard feelings”. 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.’
Amorim was asked before the Spurs clash if he would have offered this kind of news in an interview and said: ‘If this was me, probably I will speak with the manager.
‘But, guys, let’s focus on Tottenham. Tottenham is the most important thing.’