Manchester United wantaways are doing club a favour ahead of rebuild

Of all the players on Manchester United's summer hit-list, Marcus Rashford would not have been on it. The emergence on Monday Rashford is considering his future is about as unsurprising as his supportive embrace of the Ukrainian Oleksandr Zinchenko as they warmed up on Sunday.

In a squad devoid of Cristiano Ronaldo, Edinson Cavani, Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood, Rashford started on the bench at City. Anthony Elanga, a 19-year-old whose first significant start of his career was less than two months ago, started ahead of him.

Rashford, a Wythenshawe-born United fan who came through the academy, settled the Etihad derby in 2016 and scored there again in 2019. As in most industries, you are judged on what you are doing rather than what you have done. Rashford's omission was bound to sting more than his bench berth against Watford eight days earlier.

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Rashford has started two of the last 11 Premier League games. United's listless second-half against City and Monday's news may propel Rashford back into the starting side but he has not scored as a league starter since May.

Taking Rashford's favoured role on the left has coincided with Jadon Sancho's resurgence and Elanga has been more proactive on the right. Rashford's slump in form has extended beyond 14 months.

He is loath to leaving United, his boyhood club, but a change of scenery could be in the best interests of both parties. Rashford has seen his friend Jesse Lingard left in limbo and reduced to a Newcastle target. Lingard will run down his contract and so will Paul Pogba, another sellable asset where United failed to strike while the iron was hot.

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