Cracks at Manchester United appear to be widening amid their shambolic 4-1 away defeat at the hands of Manchester City.
Despite an initially promising first half display from Ralf Rangnick’s side, the reigning Premier League holders starved them off the ball, their energy, and their hope for the contest, and who knows, maybe even the rest of the season.
Anger and frustration from United supporters and critics has now given way to theories regarding Cristiano Ronaldo’s absence, the form of Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and perhaps most shocking of all, the future of Marcus Rashford.
The England star was introduced into the contest in place of Paul Pogba, except the spark and threat he was intended to bring into the contest was absent.
And now the 46-cap England international could be about to follow in the footsteps of other young Red Devils who broke out the infamous United academy only to eventually exit out of the Old Trafford doors.
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Reports from the Guardian understand Rashford’s lack of first team action this season had prompted him to start considering his future at the club he has been at since the age of seven-years old.
Rashford and his representatives are purported to have dismissed these claims, citing the striker understands his lack of first team action is down to his stuttering form this season.
After missing the first seven Premier League matches of the season to undergo shoulder surgery, Rashford has only started nine of United’s last 20 league games, contributing four goals and two assists.
Many will point to his lack of pre-season because of his surgery and the dysfunctional nature of United’s campaign to justify his struggles this campaign, but there’s little doubt that confidence has slowly ebbed from the United ace.
Rashford has entered the final 18 months of his contract, and while the Reds do have the option to extend his contract by another year, the whole situation is extremely uncomfortable.
United officials and supporters may reflect upon the eerily similar stories of Adnan Januzaj, Federico Macheda, and Danny Welbeck, and consider if the same is happening to Rashford.
Like Rashford, all three players scored on their debuts.
Januzaj scored a brace in his first match against Sunderland in 2013, Welbeck thumped an effort into the top corner in a 5-0 home victory against Stoke City, and Macheda’s curling winner against Aston Villa in 2008 is often regarded as one of the most famous goals in Premier League history.
At one point, the FA even made enquiries in the hope that Januzaj could become eligible for England if he stayed in the country for five years, while Macheda convinced many he was the next Cristiano Ronaldo.
Unfortunately, the expectations and the external pressures withered their spark, their confidence, and eventually, their United careers.
The evident desperation and insatiable desire for major trophies seems to have overflowed into the football and that of the academy prospects who burst through the system.
If Rangnick is to move into the boardroom at the end of the season, the German has to work side by side with the next permanent manager to ensure Old Trafford and the Carrington Training Base is an environment that lifts and empowers young talent rather than crush them.
While Macheda and Welbeck won trophies with United, Rashford’s performances for the Red Devils are superior to those of his fellow academy graduates.
He could rediscover the zip, ruthlessness and penetration which saw him contribute eleven goals and eleven assists last season and 17 goals and nine assists the preceding campaign.
But, if it has not already, this recurring pattern at United will fall onto Rangnick’s desk at United, whether it’s his manager’s one or his director of football one.
