After reclaiming his spot as a starter for Manchester United and regaining his position in England's World Cup team, Marcus Rashford faces a difficult season under new manager Erik ten Hag.
Erik ten Hag will have an agenda unlike any other manager in the world when he finally enters his office at Manchester United's training facility on Monday to begin preseason.
His weekly press briefings will be the only thing under pressure to perform, accomplish goals, and live up to expectations. Marcus Rashford will eventually take precedence over the other items on his to-do list, though. That's because the 24-year-old is getting ready for what will undoubtedly be his career's most important season yet.
After arguably his best season since spectacularly breaking through as a bright 18-year-old in early 2016, Rashford had just five and two goals in 2020–21. This was down from his longest injury layoff due to a long-delayed surgery. His boyhood club's lowest-ever Premier League point total in 2021–22 added insult to injury for him personally.
But as a new era approaches, the Red Devils academy alum will get the chance to restart his career under a new manager. At Ajax, Ten Hag has previously demonstrated his ability to maximize the performance of versatile attackers with technical prowess, but there appears to be a miscommunication between the two when it comes to where Rashford should be positioned.
If the team is unable to recruit a new center forward, the former England international would serve as Cristiano Ronaldo's backup striker, according to a report from the Manchester Evening News. Rashford's playing time would be reduced as a result, and this goes against how he prefers to be used in United's attack.
Goal claims that the player wants the chance to start at left wing for his boss, where Ole Gunnar Solskjaer used him most frequently in 2020–21. After an impressive start to life in the senior squad as a lone striker under Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho frequently pushed him out wide, and after some teething issues, he eventually flourished once Solskjaer showed up.
On the left wing for Manchester United, Rashford hopes to revitalize his career.
Rashford is apparently viewed as a striker by Ten Hag.
His poorest performances were under interim manager Ralf Rangnick, who had little opportunity to use him because there was talk that a summer transfer would benefit everyone. But those rumors have since been avoided because Rashford is determined to save his reputation at Old Trafford.
He shared footage of himself becoming bigger in the gym throughout the summer, which many saw as a sign that Rashford was ready to heed Ten Hag's call and get ready to play down the middle, sprinting in behind center backs rather than attempting to outfox full-backs.
His problems go beyond club football, either, as England manager Gareth Southgate's recent remarks provided a revealing verdict on his future in the national team.Both Rashford and Jadon Sancho, a teammate at United, were a part of the Three Lions' run to the Euro 2020 championship last summer. However, Southgate has claimed that their absences from his squads in the intervening months haven't had a negative impact on the England camp, and he expects the two to bounce back stronger and make his Qatar World Cup roster.
The Three Lions manager stated, "I think there is a perception of what we had and have, and there is the reality of what Harry (Kane) and Raheem (Sterling) have delivered compared to everyone else. "Whenever a question arises with Manchester United, it falls into their lap and escalates to become more important than everything else. They should handle that.
The question of where Rashford will play when the real action starts will undoubtedly be on his and his new coach's minds when they return to Carrington on Monday morning to begin pre-season training, and they may not agree.
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