Roy Keane and Ian Wright could simply not see eye to eye on one Manchester United player ahead of the 2-1 FA Cup win over Leicester City at Old Trafford.
Manchester United kicked off their 2024-25 FA Cup campaign last month with a sensational penalty shootout win over Arsenal in the third round at the Emirates.
The Red Devils won the FA Cup last season under Erik ten Hag and the former United manager was sacked last October after a poor start to the season.
United hosted Leicester City at Old Trafford on Friday evening and the Foxes stunned Ruben Amorim’s men ahead of half-time.
Bobby De Cordova-Reid put Leicester 1-0 up in the first half and Ruben Amorim’s side were left chasing the fourth-round FA Cup tie after the break.
Joshua Zirkzee climbed off the bench and netted an equaliser in the second half before Harry Maguire snatched the winner deep into injury time.
United were fortunate to see Harry Maguire’s header count after the England star was in an offside position, but VAR was not in operation and could not intervene.
The Red Devils will progress to the fifth round of the FA Cup and Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Leicester side made their exit from the cup competition.
Keane’s view on Man Utd star
Speaking ahead of Friday’s FA Cup encounter, Roy Keane and Ian Wright offered their two cents on Marcus Rashford after the Manchester United star’s club exit.
Marcus Rashford fell out of favour with United manager Ruben Amorim and the 27-year-old Red Devils ace signed on loan for Aston Villa earlier this week.
Aston Villa have a £40m option included in the deal for Rashford, who will spend the remainder of the 2024-25 campaign under Unai Emery at Villa Park.
The Premier League club have agreed to pay the large majority of Rashford’s wages and Villa did not have to pay United a loan fee for the player.
Rashford had hinted that his future was away from Old Trafford after Amorim dropped him for the Red Devils’ win over Manchester City last December.
The United star had been linked with the likes of Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona and AC Milan, but a move for Rashford failed to materialise in the January window.
Keane admitted that he was surprised that Rashford didn’t head “abroad and try something new” after his United future was plunged into doubt.
Speaking on ITV, he said: “If he’s lost the hunger at Man United, how will he get it at Aston Villa?
“Once you lose the hunger, it’s hard to get it back. It’s sad but it’s been on the cards [for] the last year or two, especially since the new manager’s come in. Clearly, they didn’t get on.
“The manager got no reaction from Marcus. The strange thing for me was I thought when Marcus was going to leave Man United, he was going to go abroad and try something new.
Keane added: “A new adventure for him, a different league, a different challenge. To go to Villa surprises me a little bit. I know Aston Villa are going along nicely, but you can’t compare them to Manchester United.”
Wright disagrees with Keane over Rashford
Marcus Rashford is widely tipped to make his Aston Villa debut on Sunday in the fourth-round FA Cup clash against Tottenham at Villa Park.
The Three Lions star looked a shadow of his former self last season and Rashford’s poor run of form in the 2023-24 campaign cost him his place in the England team.
Rashford, who missed out on England’s Euro 2024 campaign last summer, saw his struggles with form continue into the current season with United.
Wright disagreed with Keane over Rashford’s decision to move to Villa and the Arsenal legend questioned if the United loanee can “recapture” his best form.
“He’s going to a team that’s performing better,” he said.
“We can’t disrespect Villa, what they’ve done and what they’re trying to do. If Marcus can go there and recapture it, they can build around him. He’s a good player.
“Everybody has been talking about his body language here [at Man United] and what’s going on.
“He’s done great for Man United up to this point but maybe it’s time to leave. You hope he can recapture [it] because if he doesn’t, then what?”
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