‘Speak with the manager’ – Ruben Amorim fires warning to Marcus Rashford after Man Utd star speaks out on potential exit

Rashford, who joined United’s youth system at the tender age of seven, has admitted it may be time to move on from the club after he was left out of the squad for United’s 2-1 victory over Manchester City in the derby. The timing of the statement was unexpected, as United officials reportedly had little idea that the academy graduate desires “new steps” in his career and is contemplating a future away from Old Trafford.

Amorim faced an intense media grilling on Wednesday during a press conference ahead of United’s League Cup quarter-final clash against Tottenham. The manager addressed 16 questions about Rashford’s future and in his responses, he made it clear that the comments were not well received.

"If this was me, probably I would speak with the manager," Amorim told reporters. "But guys, let’s focus on Tottenham!"

The former Sporting manager also clarified that his comment on focussing on every detail was misinterpreted by the media.

"What I expect is every day all the players doing the training and outside the training, the engagement with the players," he said.

"I talk about the way they dress, I was just making a point. I don’t know how they dress, I just see them in the kit. I don’t know how they eat, I’m not looking at their plates, it was just to make a point.

"I don’t care how my players dress, it was to make a focus on the detail. I expect the best of each one of them to prepare the game. If that’s what we’re doing to try to demonstrate to the players, the rest we will have time to address and my focus is on the game and get the best out of Marcus."

Amorim admitted that managing the fallout from Rashford’s comments has been challenging. He was yet to sit down with the forward after his controversial comments as Rashford did not train Monday due to illness and Tuesday was day off for the players.

"It’s hard to explain to you guys what I am going to do. I’m a little bit emotional so in the moment I will decide what to do," Amorim said. "My focus now is on the players, they still need to arrive at Carrington so I need to prepare the game and then we will see. Let’s focus on the team not individual players. That’s it.

"It’s a hard situation to comment. If I give a lot of importance it will have big headlines in the papers and if I say it’s not a problem then my standards are getting low! So I will deal with that, I understand that. My focus is to not take the attention away from the game and the team and what we did in the last game. What I’m saying is that the team is more important than the individual, we will assess it at the right time, that’s all."

Despite the situation, Amorim reiterated his belief in Rashford’s potential, stating, “Nothing has changed, we believe in Marcus. Marcus is a player of Manchester United so there’s no change."

While Rashford’s absence continues to raise eyebrows, Alejandro Garnacho has rejoined the squad for the Carabao Cup tie against Tottenham. The young Argentinian travelled with the team to London, signalling a potential role in Thursday’s quarter-final. Rashford, on the other hand, was notably absent from the squad, further fuelling speculation about his immediate future.