International boss urged to drop Manchester United star from squad

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Marcus Rashford’s place in the England squad should be under threat from Anthony Gordon according to Martin Keown, the former Premier League winner arguing that the Newcastle ace is more ‘deserving’ of a spot than the Manchester United star.

With only one goal and two assists from his first seven appearances across 2023/24, Marcus Rashford’s form at club level has certainly left a bit to be desired of late, that solo stunner in Manchester United’s 3-1 defeat at Arsenal aside.

And you definitely cannot say the same of Newcastle’s own ‘number ten’. Gordon, a £45 million signing from Everton some 18 months ago, is playing the best football of his career under Eddie Howe, the stand-out in a team full of stand-outs during that 8-0 hammering of Sheffield United.

And, with the time approaching for Gareth Southgate to name his England squad for the October international break, Keown wonders if Rashford should be glancing nervously over his shoulder.

Marcus Rashford stuttering at Manchester United

“(Calling up Gordon) has to come into Gareth Southgate’s thought process. I’m not suggesting he starts ahead of Jack Grealish or Bukayo Saka or Phil Foden. But this is a player that is deserving of making the next step,” Keown, a three-time league champion with Arsenal, tells talkSPORT.

“I would take Marcus Rashford out of the England squad, then. The competition is very steep in those positions. On the left-hand side, OK, Rashford gives you that explosion of pace. But in terms of his all-round game, Gordon has improved enormously. The quality of his play now, the quality, the passes.

“He’s a player who hasn’t always applied himself but now you see him with a good pre-season behind him. He was outstanding in the U21s in the summer, and there has to be that pathway to the first team.”

Rashford still a Southgate favourite

Fortunately for Rashford, the Man United academy graduate is so well-established in Southgate’s squad that his place in the chosen 23 feels almost iron-clad.

If the England boss did not feel the need to remove Jordan Henderson, Kalvin Phillips or Harry Maguire, for that matter, then is far less justification for dropping a man so impressive in the 3-1 hammering of Scotland last time out.