Man Utd’s Marcus Rashford in danger of becoming another Theo Walcott after Tottenham win

Man Utd v Tottenham: Match in pictures

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As he was warming up on the touchline during the Manchester derby last Sunday with the United substitutes, Marcus Rashford crossed paths with the City subs doing the same. The protocol is for opposing players to pretend each other do not exist but, seeing Oleksandr Zinchenko, Rashford made a point of stopping the Ukrainian and embracing him. 

It was a show of love and support entirely in keeping with Rashford the man – the conscience of the nation during the Covid crisis.

Unfortunately for Rashford the footballer, it was the only useful thing he did at the Etihad.

The Manchester United man’s despondent non-performance when he was called on as an extra to watch the City showreel must surely have made up Gareth Southgate’s mind.

He double-checked in person at Old Trafford yesterday at the Spurs game but while Cristiano Ronaldo was doing his hat-trick thing there was little from Rashford to catch the eye.

He cannot be included in the England squad for the friendlies against Switzerland and Ivory Coast, which is announced on Thursday. 

Southgate has made exceptions to form-based selections before for his favourites but the rut Rashford is in has just become too deep for him to be considered.

These are low-key friendlies and to miss them is not the end of days but the danger for Rashford must be that with only two more camps to come after that before the World Cup, the direction of travel could lead to him missing out on Qatar altogether.

Recuperating from shoulder surgery, he did not feature for England in the autumn. The last ball he kicked for his country was the penalty miss in the Euros final shootout.

The response to that terrible low from the three players who fate chose as the fall guys has been contrasting.

Bukayo Saka has bounced back strongly at Arsenal and is enjoying a fine campaign. His development continues apace.

Jadon Sancho was a washout in his early days at Manchester United after his £73million transfer from Borussia Dortmund but after losing his England place, his form has picked up markedly of late and he has a good chance of an international recall this week.

For Rashford, though, it has been a season of unremitting struggle. He has scored only five goals and, despite United’s striker issues, had started just three of United’s last 12 matches.

Being left out for the derby when the club were without Ronaldo, Edinson Cavani, Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood illustrated how little faith Ralf Rangnick had in him.

The resulting tales that surfaced about Rashford considering his future at United were well-sourced but the links to Paris Saint-Germain were highly fanciful. 

Why, when a club was used to Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe up front, would they possibly be interested in the current version of Rashford?

Truth be told, he has not been the Rashford of old for 15 months. Even though he was included in the Euros squad – and captained England in the warm-up game against Romania at the Riverside – he was relegated to the fringes during the tournament. He only got on the field in the final to enable him to take a penalty.

Rashford’s best position is as a wide player down the left but the stack of talent now piled up in front of him is considerable. Raheem Sterling, Jack Grealish, Mason Mount, Phil Foden and Sancho are all capable of filling that role.

When he cannot command a guaranteed starting place at Old Trafford, there is no clear route back for England.

Something needs to change or if he is not careful he could become the next Theo Walcott. The last of his 47 caps came off the bench against Spain in 2016 at the age of 27. 

Rashford has 46 caps and is still only 24 but this is a crossroads in his career. His United contract expires next year but at the moment he is in no position to demand either a lucrative renewal or a reinvigorating move anywhere.

Confidence is a fickle mistress and Rashford’s has left him. 

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