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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Mark Jones

Erik ten Hag calls on five Man Utd players to help Marcus Rashford before Harry Kane move

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag wants several of his squad to ease the goalscoring burden on Marcus Rashford, something that would certainly be achieved in the summer if the club's move for Harry Kane comes off.

Ten Hag is hopeful of completing a deal for England's all-time record goalscorer, and initial conversations over a transfer have taken place at the club as Kane heads towards the final year of his contract.

Until any move is completed though, Rashford remains United's most likely source of goals having hit 27 in all competitions this season, 17 more than any of his team-mates.

Ten Hag would like to see others chip in, and named five he'd love to see score more often at Friday's press conference ahead of the weekend trip to Newcastle.

"I think we have players like Bruno [Fernandes], like Jadon Sancho, like Anthony Martial, like Scott McTominay, like Antony dos Santos, we have enough players with the capabilities to score goals, definitely.

"What I said previously, I work in the back on next season [for transfers] but we're working now on this season, so first of all make sure everyone is available and keep improving the way of play and that's the best chance of scoring more goals."

Rashford could be joined at United by his England team-mate Harry Kane next summer (AFP via Getty Images)

Fernandes is United's second top scorer this season on 10 goals, while Antony has seven, Martial six, Sancho five and McTominay two. The Scottish internatonal did score four goals for his country in the past week though as they beat Cyrprus and Spain.

Meanwhile, Ten Hag says he's hopeful Rashford will be fit for the Newcastle clash after he missed international duty through injury.

"I've good hope," he said.

"He trained but he had to do some treatment, he had to do some individual training. Today he joined in with the group. We have one more day. I have a good hope he will be available."

Ten Hag says he had no problem with Rashford jetting off to New York (PA)

Rashford was pictured in New York during the international break after he failed to join up with the England squad, but Ten Hag says he was happy for the forward to get a break.

"I think it's positive that he was in a break," he said.

"I think with Bruno, he was playing the most games of the whole squad.

"And I think with Manchester United playing the most games across Europe and especially the internationals, our internationals are not mostly on the bench, mostly they are playing.

"Our players are playing the most games in this crazy season. They need a breather to collect energy. For me, it's positive he took that time to turn off from football. I have seen him back this week and he has shown a lot of energy, a lot of motivation, it was a good spirit and a lot of focus.

"Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Bruno, Casemiro, they are starters for their nations. I want to emphasise they have the most games across the season so far. We played an extra round in the Europa League."

Ten Hag also refused to be drawn on Rashford's future after fresh reports detailed the ongoing lack of progress with his contract talks.

"We never [give an update]. It's an internal process," he said.

"We focus on winning games, of course also planning for the future. So in the back(ground), we're working on that. It's about agents, it's about football director John Murtough. Rashy and I are focusing on performing."

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