Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand believes Marcus Rashford’s current dry spell in the Premier League proves that the England international is not yet a ‘world-class’ player.
Ask yourself this.
When was the last time Mo Salah went through a spell like the one Marcus Rashford is currently enduring at Old Trafford. Ditto Harry Kane, Robert Lewandowski, Erling Haaland, Kevin de Bruyne or a number of others firmly established in football’s very top bracket.
If any player sums up Manchester United’s remarkable decline under Erik ten Hag, it is their homegrown number ten. Rashford, last season, became the first United player since Robin van Persie a decade earlier to break the 30-goal barrier for the Red Devils.
In 20 games this term, however, he’s found the net just twice. Only one of those has come from open play.
And, as far as Ferdinand is concerned, a player who’s form is so erratic, so wildly inconsistent, cannot dream of commanding a seat alongside Salah, Kane and co on the world-class table.
Marcus Rashford enduring nightmare season
“No, he’s not (world-class). He’s got world-class potential but I don’t think he’s a world-class player,” Ferdinand tells talkSPORT (11 December, 11am).
“He’s not proved it for long enough. For world-class, you get to a level and you sustain it over a period of time. At the moment, he comes in flurries. (Rashford) has moments where you think ‘Oh my’… He takes your breath away. He does things not many people on the planet can do.”
“He’s not a young kid anymore. He’s an experienced player who’s looked at as a leader.”
Rashford has started both of United’s last two games on the substitute’s bench, Alejandro Garnacho taking full advantage of his team-mate’s ongoing malaise and establishing himself as a starter under Ten Hag.
The manager himself, however, is backing Rashford to rediscover the form that made him arguably the planet’s most fearsome forward at around the turn of the year.
Manchester United ace has Ten Hag’s backing
“Rashford is an incredible, good player,” Ten Hag told The Independent at his Friday press conference. “You can’t do it with 11 players. He can’t play every game. He’s not in the moment in the form he was last year, but I am sure he will get there.
“It is up to him. The team will always line themselves up and the best players who form the best team will play.”
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