Marcus Rashford tipped for Man United return on one condition, fans won’t like it though
Marcus Rashford has been backed to make a surprise return to Manchester United if one thing happens between now and the end of the season.
Rashford completed a loan move to Barcelona over the summer, after falling out of favour under Ruben Amorim at Old Trafford.
The England international spent the second half of last season on loan at Aston Villa, with it becoming clear that there was no way back for him with Amorim in charge.
Since his temporary switch to the Catalan giants, Rashford has been tipped to eventually make the move permanent, but there is still a scenario where he could be reintroduced at Man United.
Marcus Rashford could complete Man United return under new manager
Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes that if Amorim is sacked before the end of the season, then the new manager at Man United could sanction Rashford’s return.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Wyness insisted that Gareth Southgate would be the perfect man to bring the winger back into the fold if he gets the job at Old Trafford.
Southgate has been one of the names mooted to replace Amorim, with the Portuguese boss under increasing pressure.
Wyness added that the former England manager got on “really well” with Rashford when they worked together before
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “Southgate was mooted before and dismissed pretty quickly.
“Could it be a short-term appointment to try and stabilise things? Gareth is a voice of stability, a manager with stability, which could then allow them to rebuild the platform and perhaps go to a manager with more flair once things are settled down.
“Is Southgate the right manager going forward? I don’t think so, to be honest. He did okay with England and he certainly sort of stabilised things there and built a decent team spirit. I don’t think he’s quite what Man United need in terms of status.
“But interestingly, would Gareth Southgate bring back Marcus Rashford, who seemed to suddenly be on the outside at Man United under Amorim. Rashford and Southgate apparently got on really well with England, so could that change things? We have to wait and see.”
Given the backlash from Man United supporters with the club’s links to Southgate, it seems Rashford’s potential reunion with the former England manager could cause a greater divide.
Rashford was clinical under Gareth Southgate
Rashford made his debut for England when Roy Hodgson was in charge, but has played the majority of his international career under Southgate.
The 27-year-old has never been a consistent starter for the Three Lions, but has had extended spells in the starting XI during his good runs of form at Man United.
Compared to the rest of his career as a whole, Rashford has been more clinical in front of goal when working with Southgate.
| Rashford (under Southgate) | Rashford (whole career) | |
| Minutes | 2,606 | 30,769 |
| Goals | 16 | 149 |
| Goals/90mins | 0.55 | 0.44 |
During his time with England under the 53-year-old, the Man United academy graduate scored at a rate of 0.55 goals per 90 minutes.
That is significantly higher than his overall career rate of 0.44 goals per 90 minutes, hinting that Southgate was able to get more out of Rashford than most other managers.
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