Man Utd star told he won't be back in Red Devils squad as hopes rise of 'cut-price deal'

Manchester United star Marcus Rashford has been told by six-time Premier League winner Rio Ferdinand that he has next to no chances of regaining his place in Ruben Amorim’s squad as the war of words between the pair continues to dominate the transfer headlines.

Rashford has not played for United since 12 December when he was subbed off during a 2-1 victory over Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League and has failed to even make the bench in 10 of the last 11 matches across all competitions.

When quizzed about the 27-year-old’s absence from the first team squad, Amorim launched a scathing attack on the player’s attitude in training and explained: "It's always the same reason - the training, the way I see a footballer should do in life. It's every day, every detail. If things don't change, I will not change. It's the same situation for every player, if you do the maximum and right things we can use every player.

"You can see on the bench we miss a bit of pace on the bench, but I would put [Manchester United goalkeeper coach Jorge] Vital before a player who doesn't give the maximum every day."

Sources close to Rashford had been adamant the 27-year-old has no issue with Amorim and was willing to play for the club again. This is despite the fact that Rashford admitted back in mid-December that he was ready for a new challenge after a 20-year association with the club.

“There's no way back for Marcus after that”

Six-time Premier League winner Rio Ferdinand claims that Marcus Rashford is unlikely to play at Old Trafford again this term after Ruben Amorim’s latest comments.

"If I was the player the manager said that about, my heart, my pride, my ego - it's embarrassment," said Ferdinand on his Rio Presents YouTube channel.

"For someone to question your application, to question you giving 100 per cent for the team, saying you're lacking effort and taking shortcuts, that's a damning comment. There's no way back for Marcus after that. If he did come back that means other players can take their foot off the gas and have a way back into the team and take shortcuts."

Meanwhile, former Blackburn Rovers and Celtic striker Chris Sutton claims the blame lays solely at Rashford’s door after being frozen out of the first team setup.

"He is too big for his boots," said Sutton on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club. "It's quite basic what Amorim said and for whatever reason, Rashford is playing up and that's totally unacceptable.

"We all know Marcus Rashford was a wonderful player, probably still is. What Amorim has done is his last resort, and is well within his rights to do. He is not asking for anything extraordinary, just asking for Rashford to apply himself every day. He has done it before, but for whatever reason he's not doing it now."

What next for Marcus Rashford?

The Red Devils currently find themselves in something of a deja vu situation after Jadon Sancho’s public fall-out with Erik ten Hag last season.

That move resulted in Sancho being frozen out of the squad between August 2023 and January 2024 before leaving on loan to Borussia Dortmund for the final six months of last season. In the summer of 2024, Sancho then agreed a season-long loan move to Chelsea, which included a cut-price obligation fee of between £20-£25m to make the deal permanent in the summer.

Reports from Daily Telegraph claim that Amorim’s public condemnation of Rashford could lead to a similar instance this month. The outlet explains that suitors from a variety of different clubs including Barcelona, AS Monaco and Marseille are getting more confident that they can agree a cut-price deal for the 60-time England international as the standoff between the pair continues to be played out in public.

Meanwhile, Rasmus Hojlund is putting in extra training as he looks to overcome his recent struggles at Manchester United.