Man Utd: Ten Hag makes plan for £63m star at Old Trafford | OneFootball

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·15 May 2022

Man Utd: Ten Hag makes plan for £63m star at Old Trafford

Article image:Man Utd: Ten Hag makes plan for £63m star at Old Trafford

Incoming Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag wants to deploy Marcus Rashford as a wide forward, according to transfer insider Dean Jones.

The £63m-rated forward has played through the middle and out wide during his United career, but Jones reckons the Dutchman will use the 24-year-old on the wing, with Cristiano Ronaldo set to continue as United’s number nine next season.


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What’s the latest news involving Rashford?

It’s been an underwhelming campaign for the England international, who’s been in and out of the team and is on course for the worst goalscoring season of his United career having scored just five goals in all competitions.

As a result, there has been increased uncertainty surrounding his Old Trafford future, with Rashford particularly annoyed about being overlooked for the Manchester derby earlier this season when United were without Edinson Cavani and Ronaldo.

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Article image:Man Utd: Ten Hag makes plan for £63m star at Old Trafford

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Regardless, Rashford wants to stay at United and despite accepting that he’s no longer part of Ralf Rangnick’s plans having hardly featured under the German, he is looking forward to working under Ten Hag, who will begin his stint as manager following the climax of 2021-2022.

What did Jones say about Rashford?

He told GIVEMESPORT: “He wants him as a wide forward, he doesn’t see him as a centre-forward from what I’m told.

“So, United need that, they need a wide forward. Potentially, they’ve got a great set up here, they’ve got Jadon Sancho one side, they’ve got Ronaldo, plus one other to come in and Bruno Fernandes to play behind.”

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Where is Rashford most productive?

Since breaking into the United first-team more than six years ago, Rashford has split his time between playing out wide or as a number nine.

Overall, Rashford’s record when playing through the middle, which stands at 42 goals and 20 assists in 121 appearances, is far more productive than when he starts on the wing, although that hasn’t always been the case in recent seasons.

Last term, he played as a winger 40 times, chipping in with an impressive 27 goal contributions, compared to when he was deployed centrally and found the net on just four occasions in 18 games.

Therefore, with Ronaldo likely to be Ten Hag’s first choice striker, persisting with Rashford on the wing might be the way forward for the Dutchman, with the prospect of those two, Sancho and Fernandes playing in the same team an extremely exciting one for United.

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