Marcus Rashford: Owen labels striker Manchester United’s weak link

• Michael Owen has called Marcus Rashford the weak link in Manchester United’s attack after the 1-1 draw with Fulham.
• Rashford has gone more than 400 minutes without a goal or an assist in all competitions this season.
• He has started four of United’s last five Premier League matches since returning to the club under Michael Carrick.

Marcus Rashford: how it happened

Michael Owen says that Marcus Rashford is the weak link in Manchester United’s forward line after the 1-1 draw with Fulham.

Rashford was substituted in the second half with a hip problem, replaced by Joshua Zirkzee as Michael Carrick reshuffled his attack.

The lull now stretches past 400 minutes in all competitions without a goal or an assist, the numbers behind Owen’s criticism.

It is not for lack of opportunity, either: Rashford has started four of United’s last five Premier League matches since returning to the club.

Carrick has kept faith with him on the left even as his end product has dried up. The assessment of the draw is set out in our full report on Owen’s Rashford critique, published in the hours after the final whistle.

The expert angle: Marcus Rashford is the weak link in Carrick’s attack

Owen made his case bluntly, speaking to the Manchester Evening News.

“On the left, Marcus Rashford has been probably the quietest of those attackers,” he said, before adding: “He was quiet again today in his body language, just the glum face.”

He went further, questioning whether Rashford is even enjoying his football:

“He just doesn’t seem to be loving his football which has been a permanent frustration with Marcus. It does look like the weight of the world is on his shoulders and you just think how? Why? He’s living everybody’s dream.

“Surely there’s something behind the scenes that is making him look as if he’s not enjoying his football at the moment.”

Owen also revisited last season’s loan to Barcelona.

“Last chance saloon was Barcelona. I couldn’t believe his luck in getting a team like Barcelona,” he said.

The move never became permanent.

“He does reasonably well out there, but not well enough for them to keep him and then they end up spending fortunes to replace him by buying Anthony Gordon. So, it wasn’t all perfect. It wasn’t all rosy despite any spin that people put on it.”

On his return to Manchester United, Owen was similarly measured.

“And then he comes back to United. He’s done okay, but only okay. And he needs to probably do a little bit better in that front three because his is (sic) the position in the attack that would be vulnerable,” he said.

His sharpest point concerned United’s likely next reshuffle.

“There’s a bit of a demand for Benjamin Sesko to come back in and start, injury permitting of course. But if that happens, Cunha is going to go on the left and Rashford would be the weak link in that attack as things stand,” Owen said.

What happens next

Carrick’s next selection call looks straightforward on paper, but it carries real risk for Rashford.

Sesko’s return from injury, whenever it comes, gives Carrick the option to push Cunha onto the left, exactly the shift Owen flagged in his assessment.

What is beyond dispute is Owen’s message. Until Rashford scores or sets one up again, the weak link tag looks set to stick, for as long as his form is flailing.

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