AS he scored the game’s only goal – the 100th of his Manchester United career – to secure victory over West Ham last weekend, Marcus Rashford didn’t simply confirm that he is at last getting back to his devastating best. He proved that there is still much more to come.
Rashford celebrated his 25th birthday this week. Six and a half years on from his spectacular emergence from United’s storied academy and into the first team, it is easy to forget how young he still is.
But with seven goals and three assists from 15 games, he has already eclipsed his return in both categories from the previous campaign. The fact that his crucial strike against the Hammers was a header is significant too. Before the start of the 2022-23 term, Rashford hadn’t scored with his head in more than two seasons. Two of his seven goals this season have been headers, equalling his best-ever return for an entire campaign. And the timing and power with which he’s met each suggests a significant skill development.
100 goals for this special club! I’ve been here since I was 7 years old and came through every single age group and played on every single pitch so I want to thanks all the staff, my family and team mates that have helped make this achievement possible 💯 pic.twitter.com/GRplZmcY4y
— Marcus Rashford (@MarcusRashford) October 30, 2022
Last season was a nadir for Rashford. He delivered the lowest goals return of his career, scoring just four times in 25 Premier League appearances. In seven combined European and domestic outings, he added only a single goal to his overall total.
It was a campaign of turmoil at Old Trafford. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked in late November with the 20-time champions seventh in the Premier League table. Michael Carrick stepped in as caretaker manager for a short period before Ralf Rangnick was hired as interim boss for the rest of the season with no improvement. United were in flux, lost. So was Rashford.
“It’s a complete different energy around the club and the training ground,” Rashford said after his scoring performance against West Ham. “That puts me in a better headspace and I just feel really motivated now. That’s the area I was struggling in.
“I was struggling at times with more mental things. It wasn’t really my own performance but other things off the pitch. That’s the biggest difference from last season.
“I get that it’s your job to speak about what happens on the pitch but for the players we have to get into the right headspace for every game.
“Too often last season, I wasn’t in the right headspace for games. I wasn’t surprised by some of the stuff that was happening.”
And the return of Rashford’s confidence has been noticed by United’s new manager, Erik ten Hag.
“Once again it is difficult for me to talk about the past,” the Dutchman said. “But what I see, I see a happy Marcus Rashford and I see some phases in his game that we could improve.
“And we worked really hard in the last two and a half months with him on different aspects.
“He likes it and he wants to transfer it to the pitch, and that is what you see in this moment.”
The fact Rashford’s current contract expires at the end of the season is something of a misnomer – United hold an option to unilaterally extend his deal for a further year, which they will surely trigger. But it is imperative now that the club ties down the long-term future of their brightest home-grown talent. Last summer, there were reports that Rashford’s representatives had met with Paris Saint-Germain to discuss a future move. Should he become a free agent in 18 months’ time, there will be no shortage of major-club interest.
His rejuvenation this season has proven not only that Rashford can thrive under Ten Hag but also that the 25-year-old should once again be considered a future centrepiece at Old Trafford.
1st and 100th Marcus Rashford goal ⚽️ for Manchester United 👏 pic.twitter.com/9ZllFJdTnP
— Ryan, TEN HAG MUFC 🇾🇪 (@TenHagWay) October 30, 2022
With last term’s uncertainty and unhappiness apparently behind him, he has demonstrated what made him such an electric talent when he broke into the United first team as an 18-year-old in 2016. Where in recent years he has been somewhat lost between the cracks of not being able to pin down and develop within a regular role as either a striker or winger, his versatility is a strength under the new manager, with the fluidity of Ten Hag’s system suiting Rashford’s malleability.
His skillset aligns perfectly with Ten Hag’s demands, too. Rashford has the endurance and work ethic to press off the ball, the speed and vision to lead counter-attacks when United have leant into that part of their armoury, and the technical skill and control to thrive as they work towards a possession-based approach favoured by the manager.
He could be a crucial weapon for England, too. His place within Gareth Southgate’s squad for the tournament was in jeopardy at the season’s outset. He’s been omitted from the last three international meet-ups and has just one England goal to his name – coming in a friendly against Romania in June 2021 – in the last two years. He’d been part of the squad that reached the final of last year’s European Championship, but his penalty miss in the shootout loss to Italy, and the resultant vile abuse to which he was subjected, only deepened the darkness of his 2021-22 season.
Now, though, Rashford should be a certainty for World Cup selection. With Raheem Sterling struggling to find his feet after a summer move to Chelsea, Rashford’s rediscovered confidence and ability to provide firepower, speed and creativity anywhere across the front line could be a vital asset for Southgate.
Rashford’s not getting back to his best. He’s getting better. And that’s good news for United’s top-four bid and England’s World Cup hopes.
