Lee Sharpe believes Marcus Rashford's major mistake was telling the press his desire to leave Manchester United before speaking privately with Ruben Amorim. Rashford, 27, found himself sidelined again from the squad that secured an impressive 2-2 draw against Liverpool at Anfield. Despite Amorim's insistence that illness kept the homegrown talent away from Merseyside, it was the sixth game in a row without Rashford's involvement, having only been part of the matchday squad once during that time as an unused sub vs Newcastle last Monday.
Last month, the former England international carried out an explosive interview with reporter Henry Winter, where he expressed a yearning for a "new challenge" but left it unclear whether he sought a fresh start under a different manager or an outright exit from Old Trafford. He has not appeared for United since the 2-1 away victory over Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League on December 12.
Looking back on everything that has happened, Sharpe suspects that Rashford's vague comments and failure to confront Amorim personally might be why he's been left at home or benched since. Speaking to William Hill, Sharpe said: "Yes, you ideally want to wait until the end of the season and then speak with the manager. But again, we don't know what exactly Marcus has meant by wanting a new challenge.
