Manchester United star Marcus Rashford was left out of England’s Euro 2024 squad and following the Three Lions’ uninspiring 1-1 draw with Denmark – his agent has aimed a thinly veiled dig at Gareth Southgate.
In the 2022/23 season, the Man United ace could do no wrong. He scored 30 goals and bagged 10 assists in all competitions, and manager Erik ten Hag even compared him to Kylian Mbappe.
In December 2022, the Dutchman said: “From the first moment, I recognised huge potential. And now to get out the potential, I believe when Marcus’s positioning is on the back of the defending line, there is almost no better player in the world.
“There is Mbappe in this moment, a type like him. But when Rashford’s getting in that position, he’s great and you see he’s really improved also out of possession.”
However, fast forward to the present and the backdrop is quite different. The 26-year-old was a shadow of himself this term, scoring just eight times and turning provider on five occasions in 43 appearances.
At times, the Red Devils academy product lost his place in the starting lineup and despite starring in his side’s 2-1 FA Cup triumph over Manchester City in late May, Rashford was not selected for England’s 26-man squad for the Euros in Germany.
On leaving out the England international, Southgate said at the time: “I just feel that other players in that area of the pitch have had better seasons, it’s as simple as that.”
With Rashford missing out, the likes of West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen, Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze, City’s Phil Foden, Chelsea’s Cole Palmer, and Newcastle United’s Anthony Gordon were preferred – all of whom had better goalscoring seasons than the United man.
Despite his below par season, his brother, Dwaine Maynard, is of the view that Rashford could have made a difference against the Danes on Thursday night.
Harry Kane gave England the lead, but as is often the case with the Three Lions, they sat back after going ahead, conceded – this time from a 25-yard strike from Morten Hjulmand – and then looked devoid of confidence and ideas.
This led Maynard to post in an Instagram story shortly after the match: “It’s hard to sit and watch when you honestly believe your man could make a difference!”
One man that may not share that view is United boss Ten Hag. In a rather surprise and frank interview with Dutch TV channel NOS, the former Ajax boss suggested it wasn’t a big shock Rashford didn’t make the Euros squad.
“[Jack] Grealish and Rashford were both lacking this season. And when you are lacking, you risk not getting picked for your country,” he said earlier this week.
England, Ten Hag, United, and Rashford will all hope the forward can rediscover the form he achieved in 2022/23 for the new season.
But for the mean time, Southgate’s men take on Slovenia in their final group stage match as they bid to reach the last 16 of the Euros.
