Roy Keane believes Marcus Rashford must be ‘ashamed’ over his Manchester United exile – with the forward’s future at the club increasingly uncertain.
Rashford will miss his 12th game in a row this evening when United face Steaua Bucharest in the Europa League and Ruben Amorim again laid down the gauntlet, insisting he will only return to the fold if he changes his attitude.
The 27-year-old’s camp have held talks with several clubs over a potential loan move this month but an agreement has not been struck despite there being just five days until the window closes, with his £315,000-a-week salary a stumbling block.
That has raised the prospect of him being forced to remain at Old Trafford and on the fringes of Amorim’s squad. After United’s 1-0 win at Fulham, the head coach said he would rather select his 63-year-old goalkeeping coach than Rashford.
United legend Keane admitted he is dumbfounded by the situation and believes Rashford must shoulder the blame for the frosty stand-off.
Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet, Keane said: ‘I can’t get involved in the conversation.
Marcus Rashford remains in exile at Manchester United with deadline day inching closer
The forward has trained with United’s first-team but will miss his 12th game in a row tonight
Roy Keane believes Rashford must be ‘ashamed’ and questioned his application in training
‘I still can’t understand at any level – whatever’s going on with players leaving, months left on contracts – a player who doesn’t train properly.
‘I don’t understand it; you might as well leave me out of this conversation.
‘Especially if you think he wants to move, which is more of a reason to train properly so when you go to a new club you’re up to speed and when you leave the club at least you showed a decent attitude. He must be ashamed.’
Rashford was spotted in drills with the United first-team ahead of their flight to Romania and appeared in good spirits. Sources have claimed he has even undertaken extra sessions to stay fit and harbours no ill feeling toward Amorim.
But Wayne Rooney revealed he recently spotted Rashford working away from the main group with a United coach, and labelled the situation ’embarrassing’.
‘I went into Carrington on Sunday to take my kids to game day and Marcus Rashford was out on the training pitch with the fitness coach, but he was right over towards where the parents were walking past for the kids’ games,’ said Rooney.
‘I looked at him thinking how embarrassing it must be for him as parents walk past.’
However, Gary Neville believes Amorim’s scathing comments on Rashford are solely down to the club’s business decision to offload him this month.
Amorim has insisted Rashford will only return to the fold if he changes his attitude
His camp have held talks with several clubs but a loan move has so far failed to materalise
Wayne Rooney revealed Rashford recently trained away from the main group with a coach
‘I know that Ruben Amorim is honest,’ said Neville. ‘I do believe that he wants the money back for Marcus Rashford, he’s said that [about him training] to probably shine a light on him and get him out of the club.
‘They’re probably asking Marcus to take a wage cut to leave, they don’t want to subsidise the wages because there is no way a new club will pay him those wages.
‘So I suspect it’s a brutal blow on him to say that there is no future here for him, that we need him out. I suspect it’s a business play as well as an honesty play.’
Amorim has insisted he doesn’t hold a grudge against Rashford but urged him to change, and even went as far as saying goal-shy United ‘need’ him.
‘Our team should be so much better with Rashford, but Rashford has to change,’ said Amorim. ‘If he changes, we would more than welcome a talent like Rashford – and we need him. We need goals, we need one against one, we need a threat.
‘But in this moment, I think it’s really clear we have to set some standards, that’s all. We are waiting for Marcus if he wants it really, really bad. That’s the only thing. You try to make it something personal, but it’s not personal. It’s nothing against Marcus.
‘I just have to make the same rules for everybody. That for me is so simple, it’s always the same message. We are a better team with Marcus Rashford, that is clear. He is a big talent. But until the right moment I will not change my mind.’
