Pundit suspects ‘dangerous’ Man Utd forward is ‘unhappy’

Lewis Oldham
Man Utd attacker Rashford

Former Premier League defender Alan Hutton suspects Man Utd forward Marcus Rashford is “unhappy” and that this is affecting his performances.

Rashford underwent shoulder surgery during the summer but he made his return for Man Ud in October.

The Englishman has struggled on the whole since he made his comeback. He has only netted three goals from his 15 appearances across all competitions.


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The 24-year-old started against Aston Villa in the FA Cup third round on Monday night. Rashford underperformed as United won 1-0.

Ralf Rangnick said post-match that he was unsure why Rashford has been struggling.  Hutton is of the belief that Rashford “does not look happy” at the moment:

“It’s a difficult one to try and work out. I thought the first five, ten minutes, Manchester United were going to be really dangerous,” Hutton told Football Insider.

“They held their width really well, with Rashford on one side and Greenwood on the other. The two of them looked dangerous as they tried to create spaces behind the back four of Aston Villa.

“He (Rashford) went off the boil. Things weren’t really dropping for him.

“Probably the biggest concern for me is that he is not really playing with a smile on his face. He doesn’t look happy. When you’re unhappy in the situation or the team that you’re playing with, it affects your performances.

“We know about his injuries and that he has had dips in form. That is fine. You can see players, when they come back, running about and working really hard.

“But it just really doesn’t look happy to me at the moment and nothing’s really coming off for him. It’s a real shame because we all know how talented he actually is.”

It was reported on Tuesday that Rangnick has “simplified his instructions” to United’s players:

“Having given specific triggers for the Wolves game a week earlier, Rangnick simplified his instructions on how to press Steven Gerrard’s side and added detail on what he wanted from his players when in possession — an aspect that some in the squad felt was lacking before.

“Rangnick, together with new assistant Chris Armas, repeatedly went over the plans with the team to make sure everyone understood their responsibilities and it produced United’s most creative display since the 63-year-old took charge — although that is not saying all that much. United put nine efforts on target over the 90 minutes and worked into several more threatening positions where better decision-making would have led to chances.”