Marcus Rashford is proving Man Utd and Ruben Amorim right. (Image: Getty)
is the latest player to escape the pressure vacuum and initially thrive in his new surroundings. The 27-year-old is already endearing himself to Aston Villa fans through his early performances after cutting ties with his boyhood club.
Rashford spent nine years as United’s poster boy following his explosive debut as an 18-year-old in 2016, scoring 138 goals in 426 senior appearances.
The England international’s early form at Villa Park shouldn’t come as a huge surprise. At his best, Rashford is a formidable attacker who very few defenders can silence.
His Old Trafford exit has unsurprisingly sparked bemusement amongst United fans watching one of their club’s least-productive attacks in history.
sanctioned Rashford’s departure, along with Antony’s, in January without recruiting fresh attacking firepower.
The decision left , Joshua Zirkzee, Alejandro Garnacho and Amad as his only first-team forwards. The desperate situation has awarded Chido Obi his first senior minutes at and Everton.
Amad has since suffered a season-ending injury, only intensifying the bitterness as Rashford provided the assist for both Marco Asensio goals in Villa’s 2-1 comeback win against on Saturday.
Amorim has shouldered some criticism for exiling Rashford for over a month before pushing him through the exit door, especially while his frontline continues failing to threaten.
Ruben Amorim couldn’t get a tune out of Marcus Rashford. (Image: Getty)
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However, Rashford’s resurgence in the Midlands proves the Portuguese head coach right.
He regularly maintained that he wanted to use Rashford but, in his attempt to drive up the standards at United, insisted he wasn’t showing the required application.
Rashford will have had dreams of retiring at his lifelong club, but the sad reality of the situation is that he became another player ground down by the machine.
It grew abundantly clear that the Red Devils’ No. 10 desperately needed a new challenge in a fresh environment under a different coach’s watch.
Football isn’t played on a spreadsheet. Just because Rashford is flying under Unai Emery doesn’t mean he would’ve played the same under Amorim.
He never lacked quality. Too often, his ability couldn’t shine as a frustrated figure in a team that was described as United’s worst ever. There have been a few of those since his emergence.
However, the attitude problems that led to his departure are a result of the deeper-lying issues in M16 that seem to plague players who enter the dressing room gradually.
Rashford is the latest example of those who have left and instantly started enjoying their football again.
Antony, Aaron-Wan-Bissaka, Jadon Sancho, Scott McTominay and Anthony Elanga are a handful of similar cases from the last couple of years alone.
That is no coincidence. United need change just as much as their underperforming players.