Reds' trading profit dilemma over Rashford

WHILE Marcus Rashford's omission from Gareth Southgate's provisional England squad for Euro 2024 may have been presented as a shock, the form of the 26-year-old meant it really shouldn't have been.

- DAVE POWELL

Eight goals in 42 games in all competitions for Rashford for Manchester United this past season has seen him placed under scrutiny, with talk of a potential departure from Old Trafford mooted for this summer.

A proven player at an elite level, something evidenced through his 131 goals in 401 competitive games for one of the biggest clubs in the world, this season has been one where Rashford has failed to ignite and at a time when the club is looking to reshape its identity now that Sir Jim Ratcliffe has been handed oversight of football matters after his minority stake purchase at the start of the year.

United face a dilemma over Rashford, a player who on his day has shown over time to be one of the most potent attacking forces in the Premier League.

Last summer he signed a fresh five-year deal, one that would take him up to the summer of 2028. But the issue for United is that the kind of rebuild that they are believed to be targeting will require some significant funds to be raised in order to facilitate it and remain under the radar of the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules, in its final year next season before being replaced by a model akin to UEFA's squad cost ratio rule.