Ruben Amorim warned Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho that he is ‘watching everything’ after making the shock decision to leave both players out of his squad to face Manchester City.
Rashford and Garnacho have struggled with form of late and despite neither picking up injuries, both were completely left out of Manchester United’s squad on Sunday.
‘I don’t want to send a message. It’s just an evaluation and they know that,” Amorim told Sky Sports.
‘The players are really smart. Everyone understands my decision. I have to choose. It’s just a simple selection.
‘The context is difficult. We have to win games and we have a difficult situation.
“I pay attention to everything, the way you eat, the way you put on your clothes to go to the game. Everything. I make my evaluation and then I have to decide. I have a lot of players to choose from.’
Marcus Rashford was a shocking omission from Man United’s squad for Sunday’s derby match
Rashford (left) and Alejandro Garnacho (right) both failed to reach the substitutes’ bench
Ruben Amorim has not been afraid to make big decisions since becoming United head coach
Stung by such a big selection call and how he broke the news to two players who are top of the scoring charts for United in the Premier League this season, Amorim added: ‘It’s always the same. There is a communication after the last training goes to the WhatsApp. They receive the information.
“But they’re okay. They had training this morning. I was there. Everything was fine. They have trained very well.’
Rashford, a £325,000-a-week star, struggled against Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League in midweek and just days after Mail Sport revealed United were willing to listen to £40million offers for him in January, he was left out completely left the selection. .
Garnacho, another who has been frustrated in recent weeks, also didn’t make the cut.
Amorim has made three changes to the side that lost 3-2 at home to Nottingham Forest last time out in the Premier League.
Harry Maguire has come in for teenager Leny Yoro, while Noussair Mazraoui and Mason Mount have been brought into the side in place of Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho.
However, all eyes will be on Rashford’s negligence, with major questions surrounding his long-term future at the club.
United are under pressure to generate cash as they struggle to comply with PSR regulations, having posted losses of £300 million in the past three years. Rashford has emerged as a leading candidate for sale.
Rashford cut a dejected figure in midweek as he hooked up with Viktoria Plzen
Amorim has reportedly been told to sell players before signing anything
After spending a further £200m on transfers last summer, United had no budget to pay another £21.4m to replace Erik ten Hag with Amorim.
That means United would consider a £40 million bid for Rashford, but it is unlikely there will be any bidders for the England forward in the January transfer window.
Selling homegrown players counts as a 100 percent profit on PSR’s balance sheet, and the spotlight has been on Rashford for some time, who has been with the club since he was seven.
It is believed the 27-year-old’s asking price would have been as much as £100 million when he scored 30 goals in Ten Hag’s first season at United.
But Rashford’s loss of form and the contract he signed last year worth a prohibitive £325,000-a-week has seen his value more than halved.
Manchester United (3-4-3): Onana; Maguire, De Ligt, Martínez; Mazraoui, Fernandes, Ugarte, Dalot; Mount, Hojlund, Amad
Substitutes: Bayindir, Lindelof, Malacia, Yoro, Casemiro, Eriksen, Mainoo, Antony, Zirkzee.