Marcus Rashford responds to message from Matheus Cunha about wearing Man United shirt
Matheus Cunha’s Manchester United debut could coincide with the long-awaited departure of the player he has directly replaced.
Cunha was the first summer signing made by Man United this summer and has been the poster boy of Ruben Amorim‘s rebuild at Old Trafford, but the Red Devils have been made to wait for further arrivals.
Diego Leon and Enzo Kana-Biyik have since joined Cunha through the doors, but statement signings have been hard to come by and Man United have been forced to shell out a huge fee for Bryan Mbeumo.
The arrival of Cunha signalled the end of Marcus Rashford’s time as Man United’s number 10 after he was ostracised from first-team training by Amorim, and a culmination of the Rashford saga now beckons.
United’s first friendly of pre-season came on the same weekend that Rashford flew out to Spain to complete his season-long loan move to Barcelona, as the transfer dominoes begin to fall at Old Trafford.
Cunha ‘hungry for more’ after Man United v Leeds display
Red Devils fans have waited patiently for Cunha’s first appearance since his move from Wolves on 12 June, and the excitement grew even further when the Brazlian became Man United’s new number 10.
Cunha started from the off alongside Chido Obi and skipper Bruno Fernandes in Man United’s first pre-season match against Leeds on Saturday, but couldn’t mark his debut with a goal in their stalemate.
The 26-year-old was one of Man United’s brighter sparks in a mixed display which saw Amorim use 24 players across the 90 minutes in Stockholm, and Cunha posted on Instagram (20 July) in reflection.
In a message liked by the exit-bound Rashford, Cunha said: “Blessed! What a feeling to wear this shirt and have my first minutes with the boys, hungry for more. Thank you.”
Man United finally make room for Mbeumo as Rashford heads out
Football Insider Verdict
Man United did their best to barter Brentford down to a lower price tag in their efforts to sign Mbeumo, but the Cameroon international does look set to join up with Amorim’s squad for a massive £71m fee.
Amorim has had Rashford and four other outcasts’ futures to sort out in the meantime after barring the group from pre-season training with the squad, yet Rashford is the only member who looks set to leave.
Rashford’s imminent switch to Barcelona will open the door for further additions, but with the wages of Alejandro Garnacho, Tyrell Malacia, Antony and Jadon Sancho still weighing them down, United’s window still can’t be classed as ‘a success’.