Ruben Amorim says he hasn’t spoken to Marcus Rashford yet about his future at Manchester United but insisted he wants him to stay at the club and get back to his best.
Rashford led the line and scored in Amorim’s first game in charge against Ipswich Town but has started just two of the subsequent six games in all competitions.
Sunday’s Manchester derby saw Rashford left out of the matchday squad entirely as the Red Devils secured a dramatic 2-1 win against Manchester City.
And on Tuesday night, the 27-year-old appeared to pave the way for his departure from Old Trafford, saying he was ‘ready for a new challenge’ after a frustrating season and a half at the club.
Only two seasons ago, Rashford enjoyed his best-ever season in front of goal – scoring 30 goals in all competitions – but he has scored just 15 times in the 18 months since then.
However, speaking ahead of his side’s Carabao Cup clash with Tottenham, Amorim insisted that Rashford still has a big role to play in his United side.
‘This kind of club needs big talent and he’s a big talent,’ Amorim said. ‘He just needs to perform at the highest level. That is my focus. I just want to help Marcus.
‘What I want is to take the best of Marcus Rashford and the other players. I don’t talk about the future. I talk about the present.
‘I want to best of each of them. I just want to win and help the team to be better.
‘We are better with Marcus Rashford, that’s simple and we try our best to push Marcus Rashford to the level he is at before.’
Asked specifically about Rashford’s comments of a new challenge Amorim responded: ‘I think it’s right. We have here a new challenge, it’s a tough one, for me it’s the biggest challenge in football because we are in a difficult situation and I already said this is one of the biggest clubs in the world.
‘This is a really new challenge and the biggest one. I really hope all my players are ready for this new challenge.’
Rashford could return to the matchday squad for Thursday’s cup clash, but Amorim said a decision would not be made until after training on Wednesday
‘We have one more training but it’s the same as the other players,’ he said. ‘If they train well, then I have to make a choice.
‘We’ll see at the end of training. I expect the best of each player every day so we will see after training.’
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