Gary Neville reveals why he believes Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho could both leave Man United this month as Ruben Amorim looks to remould his squad
- Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho have been sidelined by Ruben Amorim
- Gary Neville believes the Portuguese are copying Sir Alex Ferguson’s playbook
- Listen to It all starts! Why Manchester United may have to sell Kobbie Mainoo or Alejandro Garnacho
Gary Neville believes Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho could both be sold by Man United in January as part of Ruben Amorim’s bid to take control of the club.
The Portuguese boss made the big call to drop both players from his matchday squad for last month’s Manchester derby.
Rashford has not played since Garnacho was limited to just 80 minutes of action in the FA Cup.
The future of both players looks uncertain with Rashford claiming in an impressive interview that he was ready to leave his boyhood club for a ‘new challenge’. Garnacho, meanwhile, is reportedly attracting interest from the likes of Napoli.
And Gary Neville, who won eight Premier League titles under Sir Alex Ferguson, believes Amorim is following the Scottish great’s playbook.
‘It has been in the news in the last 24 hours that bids are coming in for Garnacho. “There have been news reports of Rashford being loaned out or moving to another club, I really wouldn’t be surprised if Ruben Amorim made big calls like this,” Neville said. The Overlap US podcast.
Marcus Rashford has not played a minute for Man United in over a month
While Alejandro Garnacho also finds his chances under Ruben Amorim limited
Gary Neville believes the Portuguese manager is making a statement to wrestle control
‘I don’t think he has anything to lose. We have all seen it over the last decade, where these talented players, who have not performed on a consistent basis, cannot take Manchester United to the top.
“When you think about what Sir Alex Ferguson has done over many, many years. Sometimes the biggest consequences were with the big players, but that was up to him to wrestle control.
‘Norman Whiteside and Paul McGrath were let go in his early days and then Jaap Stam, David Beckham and Roy Keane and Ruud Van Nistelrooy left. Huge players that you thought: “These are big players, they can’t leave”.
‘He did it to struggle with the control of whether you liked it or not, agreed with it or not.
Amorim’s side have recovered from four consecutive defeats by beating Arsenal past Arsenal in the third round of the FA Cup after a creditable 2-2 draw in the Premier League against Liverpool on Sunday.
With three home games on the schedule – against Southampton, Brighton and Rangers in the Europa League, January offers Amorim the chance to gain some momentum at Man United.
But with the transfer window still open, Neville believes the biggest decisions the 39-year-old can make this month will come off the pitch.
“This will be a big transfer window,” Neville added.
It’s an important month for Amorim with a number of winnable home games and the transfer window open
David Beckham was sold to Real Madrid in 2003 after a falling out with Sir Alex Ferguson
And the Scottish manager was also not afraid to get rid of star striker Ruud van Nistelrooy
‘It may not be as big as we think, but if Garnacho and Rashford were to leave it would be big steps. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a mini-clearout and he brings in one or two players.’
“Maybe Ruben Amorim should actually go before the most high-profile players and say, ‘I’m in charge here, I don’t care who you are, I’m the one who’s going to implement the standards in the workplace.’ football club and if you don’t hit them all the way, I don’t care how talented or valuable you are, what the fans think of you, what your pay packets are, you’re done”.
