A RASH DECISION?
The transfer boffins at Manchester United didn’t have a great record last summer when it came to the club’s departures. Scott McTominay was deemed not good enough for Ruben Amorim’s squad, sold for around half of Manuel Ugarte’s fee, and went on to win Serie A Footballer of the Year, leading Napoli to a historic Scudetto. Antony couldn’t trap a beanbag in the first half of the season, registering one goal (a penalty in a 7-0 Fizzy Cup win over Barnsley in September) and no assists in the first five months of the campaign in United colours, yet went on to be one of the standout players in La Liga in the second half on loan at Real Betis, scoring nine goals, registering five assists and helping the Seville side reach a European final.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka, now of West Ham, was crowned last season’s Hammer of the Year for his performances at right back, and despite being named United’s Under-23 Player of the Year in 2022, Álvaro Carreras departed Old Trafford for Benfica last summer for just £5m without making a first-team appearance, despite the club desperately needing a good, fit left-back. Make that make sense. This is the same Álvaro Carreras who, this summer, is now worth £43m after signing with Real Madrid to become their first-choice left back.
Another player deemed unsuitable for a team that finished 15th in the Premier League but seemingly good enough for a Spanish superclub is Marcus Rashford, who is next on the gilded conveyor belt out of Old Trafford’s door marked ‘Do One’, with the 27-year-old currently in Barcelona finalising a loan (with option to buy) deal with the Spanish champions. Just why Rashford would want to swap Manchester for Catalonia and play on the left wing of an attack that also numbers Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha is anyone’s guess, although Ruben Amorim’s very public declaration he would rather play a 63-year-old goalkeeping coach over the England international earlier this year is probably quite a good place to start.
Recent history tells us – and hopefully the transfer gurus behind each and every one of the above transfer blunders – that Rashford might not be the problem but rather, the club’s seemingly unquenchable desire to be a lurching behemoth of a bin fire. Football Daily isn’t an expert (in anything, really) but might suggest to Big Sir Jim and his lieutenants that falling out and ostracising the club’s best young, home-grown talent probably isn’t the best way to get Manchester United back on track. It feels a whole lot more likely that Rashford will have a brilliant season with Barcelona than Manchester United having a brilliant season without him. Sure, Rashford as the 2026 Ballon d’Or winner does seem like a bit of a stretch at this point, but then again, 12 months ago, we didn’t expect to see McTominay crowned as the new king of the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. Good luck, Marcus!
QUOTE OF THE DAY
Representing our country is the greatest honour. It is not right that while we are doing that, some of us are treated differently simply because of the colour of our skin. Until now, we have chosen to take the knee before matches. It is clear we and football need to find another way to tackle racism. We have agreed as a squad to remain standing before kick‑off on Tuesday. Those behind this online poison must be held accountable” – England’s players release a joint statement to show solidarity with Jess Carter, who revealed that she has been subjected to racial abuse online during the Euros in Switzerland.
I am glad that Mike Walsh and Stuart Maconie ((Friday’s letters) have definitively answered the question of where the north of England starts and am confident that is the end of the matter” – Bryan Paisley.
You can cite Howlin Studs Maconie all you want, Mike, but though he may have coined the phrase ‘Britpop’, he also claimed Bob Holness played the saxophone solo on Baker Street. The north starts at Sheffield, indisputably, as did football, also undisputedly. (I’d love to say this is the one thing Noble will agree with me on, but he’d probably email in and say it’s bloody Woodhall, or something)” – Jon Millard.
So it’s really come down to this has it then? Literary choices from a footballer copying their look from John Oates circa 1981. How long till the Premier League starts again?” – Noble Francis.
Julien Stéphan has said that the Championship is the most difficult league in the world. Could the grownups decide once and for all? This is all too confusing” – Krishna Moorthy.
The mural of Big Sam and his mountain of chips is fine (Sam’s Town – Friday’s full email edition). But what we all want to see is an artist’s rendering of him downing that infamous pint of wine. Larger than life” – Mike Wilner.
If you have any, please send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s winner of our prizeless letter o’ the day is … Mike Wilner. Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we run them, can be viewed here.
RECOMMENDED LISTENING
Max Rushden is joined by Lucy Ward, Jonathan Wilson and Philippe Auclair in the latest Football Weekly podcast to discuss the Euros and unwanted Manchester United players.
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