Marcus Rashford has just made next move clear after Man United transfer decision

“If you ever question my commitment to Manchester United, that's when I have to speak up,” wrote Marcus Rashford in his Players’ Tribune column last February.

"I grew up here. I have played for this club since I was a boy… If you start questioning my commitment to this club and my love for football then I'd simply ask you to have a bit more humanity."

The tone somewhat changed ten months later. Speaking about his future last month amid his four-game squad exile under new boss Ruben Amorim, Rashford delivered more ambiguous comments.

“I think I’m ready for a new challenge and the next steps,” he said. “I’ve seen how other players have left in the past and I don’t want to be that person. When I leave I’ll make a statement and it will be from me.”

A new challenge where? At United or another club? Perhaps the answer lies in the usage of the phrase ‘when I leave’ rather than ‘if I leave’.

This ambiguity is a marker of how much the goalposts have shifted in the last four years. Back in December 2020, Rashford had made it plain that he wanted to stay at United for life.

“As a kid I've never looked beyond Manchester United in my mind, it wouldn't sit right for me to be pulling on another shirt,” he insisted. "I just want to do the best I can for the club whilst I'm here, so hopefully I'm here for the long term."

Amorim’s choice to leave Rashford out of four matchday squads over Christmas puts this plan in jeopardy. It looked so different two years ago.

The England star had just come back from the World Cup as England’s joint top-scorer in the tournament and would end the season by becoming the first United player in a decade to fire in 30 goals across a single club campaign. He was duly awarded a fresh five-year deal that