Man Utd warned ‘tormented’ star needs transfer away as Ferdinand hits out at ‘stale’ forward
Marcus Rashford “looks tormented” at Manchester United and needs a “fresh challenge”, according to former Premier League striker Chris Sutton.
The Man Utd forward finished last season as the Premier League club’s leading goalscorer on 30 goals in all competitions as the Red Devils reached an FA Cup final, won the League Cup and claimed a top-four finish in the Premier League.
However, Rashford – who has reportedly been ‘at the heart’ of a ‘dressing room mutiny’ – has been well off the boil this season with the England international contributing two goals and three assists in 20 matches in all competitions.
Man Utd have particularly struggled to score in the Premier League with just 18 goals in 16 games and former Blackburn Rovers and Chelsea striker Sutton reckons Rashford needs a new challenge after becoming “tormented” and “stale” at Old Trafford.
Sutton on the It’s All Kicking Off podcast: “He looks tormented at this moment in time, I think for him and his career… I think at this moment in time he looks bored, he looks stale… I think that he’s a player that actually needs a move away from Old Trafford, I do and a fresh challenge.
He added: “I don’t think he’s working hard enough, but I do think he looks like a player who needs a fresh challenge.”
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Rio Ferdinand has been critical of Rashford’s “flurries” of form over the past couple of seasons but admits he still “has moments where he takes your breath away”.
When asked whether Rashford is world class, Ferdinand said on talkSPORT: “No, he’s not.
“He has world-class potential, but he’s not a world-class player. He’s not proved it enough.
“To be world-class you get to a level and you sustain it over a period of time but at the moment he comes in flurries.
“He has moments where he takes your breath away and does things that not many people on the planet can do and is great.”
On whether the crop of homegrown players at Man Utd should be taking more responsibility this season, Ferdinand added: “Yeah, I certainly think you should take things more personally and then try and help that situation.
“I still catch myself and have to remind myself ‘he’s not a young kid anymore’, he’s an experienced player in that changing room who is looked at as a leader.
“If I was him, being at the club that long and with the status he’s got in the game, when the captaincy came up I’d be wanting to have that armband because I think he’s got the experience and the gravitas to do that.
“We can talk about if he’s world-class or not, but all of these players need to go out there and graft – that’s it.
“Wide players, irrelevant of ability, none of the players like Beckham, Giggs, Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani, Valencia etc. – they didn’t want to be on the same side of the pitch as where the gaffer was because they would be drilled, chasing back and running after people.
“Before you talk about ability and getting crosses in and scoring and assisting, you chase that full-back up and down that pitch and you run him into the ground – then you can start playing your football.
“These fundamentals don’t seem to be there at the moment and that’s the crooks of it. No matter what level you play at – from grassroots and non-league up to the Premier League – the non-negotiable is working.”
