Manchester United find themselves in an all-too familiar position with Marcus Rashford. For this once all-conquering club, it’s another sad indictment of their downfall over the past 10 years.
United made their name as the club that bucked the trend under Sir Alex Ferguson. That oft-quoted soundbite from Alan Hansen that “you can’t win anything with kids” was regularly debunked as the Old Trafford conveyor belt kept churning out exciting and new talent.
Those names would go on to etch themselves into United history. Scholes, Giggs, Neville, Beckham et al. would go on to play a big part in some of the club’s greatest moments.
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The club has continued to produce its own players since Ferguson’s retirement, but none have managed the longevity of those names of the past. In fact, most have followed a very similar pattern: burst onto the scene, struggle to maintain that early momentum, find themselves in and out of the team, before eventually fading into obscurity as they left Old Trafford.
It’s a well-trodden path for many players whom supporters had such high hopes for. So many had predicted Rashford would be the one to break the trend — but even he now finds himself in a state of purgatory at the club.
As he considers his future, there is the growing sense that he could very well become the latest to follow so many of his predecessors out of the exit door. While he would be loathed to leave his boyhood club, even that attachment hasn’t stopped other names from having to say their goodbyes.
And as more and more doubts creep in, fans have drawn comparisons to Danny Welbeck. A forward who was United through-and-through, he found himself having to begrudgingly leave the club in 2014 after it became harder and harder to find a place for him in the side.
It’s by no means a new comparison either. Back in 2018, Jamie Carragher drew parallels between the two as he discussed the possibility of Rashford leaving the club for more game time.
“My point is that he might have to move away,” Carragher said. “I like Danny Welbeck as a player and I hope this doesn’t come across as disrespectful but Marcus Rashford does not want to become Danny Welbeck.
“What I mean by that is that he came through at United as a centre-forward, then used on the left, then the right, he was delighted to get minutes and all these things. But he ends up becoming a squad player, never nailing down a centre forward position, he moves to Arsenal and exactly the same thing has happened, where does he play? He does the same for England and that’s what you don’t want.”
That description will sound a little too close to home for Rashford and United fans. Early suggestions that he would become the Reds’ next great centre-forward were quashed as the left-hand side became his preferred position. This season, with Jadon Sancho’s arrival, he’s been forced onto the right, though even that position has come under threat now from Anthony Elanga.
Rashford’s poor run of form this season has been a major concern, and with the 24-year-old now weighing up his options, there’s a real worry that he could go down the same route as Welbeck. For his and United’s reputation, they can ill-afford that to happen.
Rashford has another year left on his contract at Old Trafford, after which United will have the option of an extra year should they choose to utilise it. But with change on the way at the club during the summer, and Ralf Rangnick refusing to rule out a Rashford exit — the player might only have a couple more months to in which to prove his worth, and dissuade the club from letting go of another of their own.
All of his great work off the pitch means there are few who want to see Rashford having to exit United. It’s up to him now to finally break that trend at the club.
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