Ten Hag ‘barely speaking’ to Man Utd star amid fears their ‘relationship’ may be ‘beyond repair’
According to reports, Erik ten Hag and Manchester United attacker Marcus Rashford are ‘barely speaking’ and their relationship may be ‘beyond repair’.
Rashford is arguably the player who benefitted most from Ten Hag’s arrival ahead of the 2022/23 campaign as he previously struggled under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick.
The England international was heavily linked with Ligue Un giants Paris Saint-Germain during the 2022 summer transfer window but he ended up sticking around and was one of the standout performers in the Premier League last season.
But the Man Utd star has been one of their biggest disappointments this term as his form has severely declined. He finished last season with 30 goals across all competitions but he has just five goals in his 31 outings this season across all competitions.
Rashford was heavily criticised after reporting ill a couple of days before United’s tie against Newport County on January 28. It later emerged that he missed this game after going on a midweek night out in Belfast.
Following this incident, Ten Hag told reporters: “So, he has taken responsibility and for the rest, it’s an internal matter – case closed.”
Despite this, a report from The Sun claims ‘Ten Hag and Rashford are barely on speaking terms as the pressure mounts on the Manchester United boss’.
The Red Devils made an unbeaten start to 2024 but they suffered a disappointing 2-1 home loss against Fulham over the weekend. Since then, it’s been reported that new United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants Zinedine Zidane to replace Ten Hag in the summer.
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It is said that Ten Hag was ‘furious’ with Rashford for going out in Belfast before their match against Newport County. The report from The Sun adds.
‘The manager felt the player also tried to deceive him by claiming the incident had happened 24 hours earlier than it did.
‘While he missed the Newport match he was restored to the team for the following game away at Wolves scoring in the opening minutes. But the relationship between manager and player has not repaired despite Ten Hag claiming it had been put behind them.
‘Staff are now concerned that the relationship between manager and player has broken down irrevocably as Rashford continues to struggle to find the form that lead him to career best figures of 30 goals last season.’
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Ex-Arsenal winger Perry Groves thinks Rashford and Bruno Fernandes are “everything that is wrong with Man Utd”.
“Manchester United are still rotten. Erik ten Hag is swimming against the tide,” Groves told talkSPORT.
“If you were a new manager going in the two players I’d get rid of straight away are Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford.
“They’re everything that is wrong with Manchester United.
“They’re lazy. Bruno Fernandes is never a captain in a million years – I said that after they lost 7-0 at Anfield and he was trying to do his socks or his shinpads or whatever.
“The other thing that epitomises it is that Alex Iwobi’s goal was a brilliant, counter-attacking goal – by the time Iwobi scores the goal, Victor Lindelof hasn’t made the halfway line and he’s a defender.”
