England manager Gareth Southgate is reportedly running out of patience with his striker Marcus Rashford. The Manchester United player has not shown any progress in the past few months and would likely lose his place in the national team during the Euro 2024.
Rashford was one of the called players into the England squad during the latest international break against Brazil and Belgium. But he failed to impress Southgate by only appearing for 15 minutes against Brazil and did not play against Belgium.
Marcus Rashford finds a deadlock in his career development
Simon Jordan, a football columnist, wrote in Daily Mail that Rashford has not paid any expectations in England’s two friendlies in the midweek. Jordan added that Rashford’s career “appears to be going backward”.
“He came off the bench for 15 minutes against Brazil and didn’t get on against Belgium,” Jordan wrote via TalkSport. “He’s not been a central figure for some time. He’s become an impact substitute, someone who can come on for the last 20 minutes when the game is stretched. He might not like it but that’s where he is at the moment.
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“What he needs to do is apply himself, and look like he’s interested, engaged, and motivated again otherwise he may never reach the levels we saw from him at the beginning of his career.”
Not a promising season for Marcus Rashford
The gloom period of Rashford has been seen since the league started this season. Playing 35 games across the competitions, the academy graduate only scored eight times with the latest coming in a dramatic FA Cup win over Liverpool earlier this month. United also failed to compete at the highest level this season, leaving their victory over Liverpool at the FA Cup as the only exception so far. The Red Devils are at risk of not playing in the Champions League again next season, let alone a chance to win the league, which is even more almost impossible.
The 26-year-old has to fight for his place with the Euro coming in three months. Daily Sports wrote that Southgate is considering finding an alternative striker for Rashford’s replacement. England will be in the same group alongside Denmark, Slovenia, and Serbia.
Southgate might consider Brentford’s Ivan Toney as an ideal replacement for Rashford at the frontline. Since returning from his ban related to betting, the 28-year-old has not lost any touch in front of the opponent’s goal, having scored four times in 10 appearances. He also scored once when England played a draw against Belgium a few days ago.