Ruben Amorim Would Play 63-Year-Old Goalkeeper Coach Over Marcus Rashford

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has once again slammed out-of-favour forward Marcus Rashford, stating that he would rather play his 63-year-old goalkeeper coach Jorge Vital than the England international unless Rashford starts to “give the maximum every day in training and in life.”

Rashford, 27, has been left out of the team for the 11th successive game by Amorim during United’s 1-0 Premier League win at Fulham on Sunday. The forward expressed his desire to seek a “new challenge” away from Old Trafford last month after being dropped for United’s 2-1 win against Manchester City on December 15. However, Rashford has been unable to find a new club during the January transfer window.

Despite strikers Rasmus Højlund and Joshua Zirkzee scoring just one goal between them since the beginning of December, Amorim remains adamant about not restoring Rashford to the team unless he changes his attitude. “It’s the same, it’s always the same reason,” Amorim said when asked why he continued to overlook Rashford. “The reason is the training, the way I see what footballers should do in training, in life, it’s every day, every detail.”

He added, “So if things don’t change, I will not change. It’s the same situation for every player. If you do the maximum, if you do the right things, we can use every player. And you can see it today on the bench, we miss a little bit of pace to go and change the game, move some pieces. But I prefer it like that. I will put Vital on before I put a player on that don’t give the maximum every day. So I will not change in that department.”

Amorim, who arrived from Portuguese champions Sporting CP in November, celebrated his 40th birthday on Monday. However, after the Fulham win, he joked that he feels much older after his brief stint at United. “It’s not 40 … I’m 50!” he said. “After two months at Manchester United, it’s 50. It’s a privilege to spend my 40th birthday here. That feeling of winning and three points is really important for us. You cannot see a great improvement in the team and that is a fact, but to win helps us to improve.”

The Manchester United boss acknowledged the team’s lack of luck in some games and their desire to play a different style in the future. “We’ve had some lack of luck in some games. Today, was not the best match but we managed to win. The important thing is I have a clear idea of what I want to do. Sometimes I’m frustrated. We want to play a different style and we are going to play a different style in the future,” Amorim said.

Rashford’s future at Old Trafford remains uncertain, with potential moves to AC Milan and Barcelona being hindered by various factors. As the transfer window draws to a close, the 27-year-old’s situation at Manchester United continues to be a talking point, with Amorim’s criticism of his attitude and work ethic adding fuel to the speculation surrounding his future at the club.