Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford is struggling to reproduce last season’s goalscoring form and his overall game is suffering.
When Marcus Rashford is at the top of his game, Manchester United are hard to beat. When he is off it, the whole team seems to suffer.
He completed only 79 per cent of his passes against Crystal Palace, also failing to register a shot on target.
Manchester United lost the game 1-0, and United fans at Old Trafford were left frustrated by the forward’s lacklustre display.
READ: Confirmed Manchester United transfers in, out, loans, releases, youth for 2023/24
Marcus Rashford criticised
Marcus Rashford signed a new contract at Manchester United in the summer, with the club desperate to avoid him becoming a free agent in summer.
But one possible consequence of this is, is that Rashford may not be playing with the same hunger as he was last season.
This is the belief of pundit Craig Burley, who believes Rashford has eased off and is not putting in the same efforts as 2022/23.
Burley told ESPN FC: “He has got the tell tale signs of ‘I have signed this big new deal and I am on the Billy Big Time ship again’.
“The one thing he’s started to do again, is not work his socks off, off the ball. Last year he was working hard and got his just rewards on the ball, this year he’s doing neither.”
Marcus Rashford is United’s highest earner
Marcus Rashford is Manchester United’s highest earner, per The Sun, with his new contract set with wages of £375,000 per week.
Burley added that he felt Rashford was acting like the ‘king of Old Trafford’, ‘sauntering’ around the pitch, and worries that nobody in the team will call him out.
“It’s about doing what he did last year, and driving on. It seems not only does he not have it, there’s nobody else in the dressing room that will give him a gigantic kick up the backside and say ‘hey, what you did last year is gone, what you need to do this year is to work hard’.
“He’s not the only one, but he’s the one who sticks out.”
We aren’t privy to discussions behind the scenes, and nor is Burley, but you would hope there are senior Manchester United players who are not afraid to call anybody out, Rashford included.
After setting such high standards last year, Rashford was always going to be a target for criticism if his levels dipped. If he was visibly putting in the effort, United fans would be willing to defend him, however, at present, Red Devils supporters are more frustrated with last season’s top scorer than any media pundit.
The post Pundit criticises Manchester United star for ‘not working hard’ and thinking he is ‘big time’ appeared first on United In Focus.
from United In Focus https://ift.tt/n6IyhgD