The immediate Man Utd issues facing Ruben Amorim after a complicated transfer window | OneFootball

Marcus Rashford has been of interest to AC Milan and Juventus, Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund. Yet as the transfer window enters its final furlong, he is still a Manchester United player. Not in terms of actually playing – he has not appeared in their last 10 matches, and has only even been on the bench for one of them – but in the simple fact that he has not signed for another club. Some of Rashford’s options are closing off. When Kyle Walker completes his move to Milan, they will not have a slot in the squad for another English player. Barcelona are forever cash-strapped. Dortmund, having just sacked Nuri Sahin, are in limbo. So, in a different way, is Rashford. His long relationship with United could continue, whether or not either party really wants it to.

United’s transfer window has been busy and yet uneventful, with a host of players who could leave but haven’t, with difficulties signing unless they bring in some money. Ruben Amorim’s February now could come with added complications. His tasks may include reintegrating Rashford, a player exiled by a combination of the head coach and the player’s own choices.

Amorim scarcely sounded enthusiastic about the task, even if he was non-committal. “I don’t know,” he said. “I really don’t know. Guys, it’s eight days. We will see in the end of the window what happened.”

It has been an expensive impasse. It has sparked speculation surrounding the future of Alejandro Garnacho, with the Argentine linked with Chelsea. Any deal involving the young wide player would represent a boost to any United concerns over PSR regulations. But given Rashford’s sizeable salary, United have been paying a player around £2m since he last appeared for them.

And that is part of United’s problem. They have a huge outlay and some of it isn’t reflected in the pitch. They are weighed down by commitments made in the past. Casemiro has a famously huge pay packet. He has been an unused substitute in 10 of United’s last 13 games. He came off the bench at Wolves, when they lost.

He started against Newcastle, when he was outrun and they lost. Their only result with him on the pitch in that time came at Viktoria Plzen. It is impossible to argue that United are getting value for money this season. Casemiro is a problem that Amorim inherited, one which he has not solved.

“He has to be the characteristics and then I have to choose the player with characteristics that I see the game,” he said. “So it’s just that. I have to make some choices. I want to play a style of game that is sometimes different from other coaches and I have to choose based on that, that’s all.”

And if that was a diplomatic way of saying he needs midfielders with more mobility, Casemiro is unlikely to get any quicker. His 33rd birthday falls next month and if his age could deter anyone from signing him, his salary could make it even more unlikely. United could still be lumbered with it when the window closes.

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(Getty Images)

Amorim’s room for manoeuvre has been limited by the men it seems United cannot move. He was bequeathed a sizeable squad and a packed fixture list. But some have been overworked, in part because others have gone unused by choice or are unusable. Friday marks the two-month anniversary of his bow at Ipswich. It has contained 16 matches. Noussair Mazraoui was rested for the 2-1 victory over Rangers in the Europa League after featuring in the first 15, starting 14. Perhaps that large workload explained his off-day against Brighton. It has become clearer which players Amorim trusts, however. Casemiro, overlooked when the youngster Toby Collyer got just his second United start against Rangers, seems in the same category as another Brazilian.

Antony could join Real Betis on loan. He has begun just two matches for Amorim, none of them in the last month. He is Erik ten Hag’s £85m folly: add him to Rashford and Casemiro and more than £800,000 a week goes in wages to non-playing players. Even more, when the injured contingent is factored in.

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Marcus Rashford has been frozen out of the first-team picture at Manchester United (Getty Images)

Luke Shaw has not started a match all season. He was a substitute in Amorim’s first three games before breaking down again. He is on the comeback trail but Amorim is sounding cautious. “It’s two weeks to start training and then we have to start doing small minutes,” he said. “We don’t have a lot of time to train, we have to put in some exercises in ten minutes, then he has to make extra work to improve his fitness, so I don’t know.”

Amorim faces more immediate decisions. Altay Bayindir replaced Andre Onana in goal against Rangers. “This was rotation, was prepared,” said Amorim. But Onana’s error when Georginio Rutter struck for Brighton added intrigue. “It’s always an even fight,” said Amorim of the choice between his two goalkeepers. “But that mistake was my concern.”

It raised the possibility that Onana may end up joining the band of Rashford, Casemiro, Antony and Shaw among the non-playing United players.