- Ex-England international tops notable chart
- Rashford has signed new contract
- Wants to etch his name into Old Trafford folklore
WHAT HAPPENED? Red Devils legend Rooney has set that particular bar at 253 efforts, with Rashford a long way short of that mark for now. He has, however, made his way to 123 – with a personal-best return of 30 strikes recorded across all competitions last season. Rashford is giving himself time to close on top spot after committing to a new five-year contract at Old Trafford, with his intention being to remove Rooney from the summit of a notable list at some stage.
WHAT THEY SAID: Rashford – speaking on The Overlap, in partnership with Sky Bet – has said of chasing down the most prolific marksman in United’s distinguished history: “Hopefully I will [break Rooney’s all-time record]. You never know what’s going to happen, but I’m all about scoring goals and trying to make assists. There’s a chance that it can happen. I’ve spoken to Wazza about it – he wants me to do it! He said it would be good for me to do it as I’ve grown up at the club. Hopefully I get the opportunity to try and make it happen.”
The 25-year-old added on delivering more end product after recovering from a surprising dip in 2021-22: “Before last season, I always aimed for 20 goals – a good benchmark for a winger. But this season, I’ve hit 30 – we have to try and push it now. Towards the end of the season, I was struggling with a few injuries, and I wasn’t quite at it – that’s when the goals started to dry up for a bit. If I can keep that side of it under taps, I feel like I can go on and get 35 or 40.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Rashford has taken in 359 appearances for United – claiming FA Cup, Carabao Cup and Europa League honours along the way – with his sights set on more major silverware. He said of personal ambition that continues to burn bright: “[Lifting the Premier League trophy] has been my dream ever since I was a kid. I watched guys in [Gary Neville’s] team winning so many times that it almost became natural for us to see you win it – we forgot about the hard work that you put into every game, and we expected to be lifting the trophy come the end of the season. It will be unbelievable for me to get my hands on that trophy with Manchester United – hopefully we manage to do that.”
He added on bolstering his medal collection under Erik ten Hag: “When you think about it deeply, there’s nothing better than winning at Manchester United. At the age I’m at, I’ve still got a big opportunity to try and do that. The timing is closer than we think, but we still need to take those extra steps and at the minute we’ve got a manager that’s fully dedicated to winning at all costs and he wants us to be as best as we can individually and as best as we can be as a team. At the end of the day, he wants us to win trophies – there’s been some games where he’s come in fuming at half-time because we’re not playing well. He tells us to listen and relax – he knows we’re not playing well, but we’re still in the game but we’re going to fight to win it. It doesn’t matter if we win 1-0 or 3-0, but if we get that one goal, just be ready for that one chance – it’s a refocus. It’s important that I keep that in mind to the point where he doesn’t have to keep reminding me – it just happens naturally.”
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WHAT NEXT? United have spent much of the summer in the United States, but they are now back in Europe preparing for final friendly dates with Lens and Athletic Club that should have them fully prepared for a 2023-24 Premier League season opener against Wolves on August 14.