Marcus Rashford role might be safer than ever despite Manchester United struggles

Marcus Rashford was the biggest positive for Manchester United last season. Now he is one of their biggest concerns instead.

The 26-year-old showed signs of promise in the early stages of the win over Wigan on Monday night, but they quickly turned into frustration as his side continued to waste an abundance of scoring opportunities.

He is the ultimate confidence player and he is low on it at the moment. Yet he still has the faith of his manager. Erik ten Hag is well aware of his struggles but is of the train of thought that it would only take one good game for him to rediscover his swagger.

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Rashford's place in the starting lineup has never really been threatened, and now it almost looks as safe as ever, given the lack of genuine competition he has in his preferred left wing role.

It is well documented that Rashford relishes that role as an inverted winger, given that it plays to his strengths of running at defenders and cutting inside onto his dominant right foot. 17 of his 30 goals last season came when he was playing on the left wing, though many others came when he had drifted there in matches when he was officially deemed a centre-forward instead.

This weekend's clash with Tottenham looks certain to deliver goals and with it, it could be the perfect opportunity for Rashford to finally rediscover the world-class form that Ten Hag was banking on this season. Even if he doesn't, it is hard to see him losing his place altogether.

Rashford's only realistic rival on the left wing was Alejandro Garnacho, but he is now the go-to choice on the right wing after impressive