Manchester United already have to change their Rasmus Hojlund striker plan

On his managerial return to Old Trafford in 2019, the first question Jose Mourinho was asked in the press room was whether he had been proven right about Marcus Rashford.

Rashford, in the midst of career-best form, had just scored both goals in a 2-1 win against Mourinho's Tottenham to ease the pressure on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Manchester United had won four of their first 14 Premier League games.

Mourinho, concerned by Spurs' supine performance, modestly eschewed a lengthy response and suggested the question be posed to Solskjaer: "I think probably he thinks the same."

The question centred on Rashford's position. He was now recognised as an out-and-out left winger and barely playing through the middle. Mourinho never regarded Rashford as a centre forward and signed Zlatan Ibrahimovic one year and Romelu Lukaku the next.

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Rashford's two goals marked a victory for the Rashfords. His brother, Dwaine Maynard, posted a photo of Mourinho's disgruntled reaction to Rashford squandering a gilt-edged chance against Young Boys in the Champions League a year earlier. Maynard is not the only relative of Rashford's sensitive to constructive criticism.

That was a perfect storm: a supposedly beleaguered manager chiding an England international. Gary Lineker (of course) wailed about it on live television. Mourinho chuckled when shown footage of Sir Alex Ferguson castigating Cristiano Ronaldo after his shot endangered spectators in a crucial win at Wigan Athletic in 2009.

The point is Mourinho was right. Rashford is not, and never was, a centre forward and he was only played there by Mourinho against Young Boys on a rotational basis. The ambling Lukaku had gone 12 games without