SIR JIM RATCLIFFE and Manchester United’s board will not interfere in Ruben Amorim’s handling of Marcus Rashford.
The England star was left out of the United squad entirely for the third time in eight days in Sunday’s defeat to Bournemouth.
Ruben Amorim is free to deal with the Marcus Rashford situation as he pleasesGetty
That fuelled the belief that Rashford, 27, looks destined to leave when the transfer window opens next week, with former United skipper Gary Neville claiming he may have played his last game for the club.
Rashford himself admitted, a day after being left out of the Manchester derby win last Sunday, that his future may lie elsewhere.
But every passing game that Rashford is exiled from Amorim’s squad would appear to harm United’s chances of cashing in on the striker next month.
United are reportedly looking for at least £40 million and Rashford is among the highest earners at Old Trafford.
Ideally, new minority owner Ratcliffe would want Rashford in the first team and showing glimpses of the talent that saw him score 30 times for United just two seasons ago.
However, there is no pressure from Ratcliffe, or any of his INEOS executives, including new chief executive officer Omar Berrada.
Amorim has insisted, ever since he left Rashford out of last weekend’s dramatic derby win at City, that the choice is his alone, repeating that position before the Bournemouth defeat.
Amorim said: “It’s my decision and it always will be.
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“It is selection. I want to see the best of my players and I try different things with different players. That’s my focus.”
The Rashford predicament has been heightened by the reaction of his team-mate Alejandro Garnacho, who was axed, along with the striker, for the Etihad derby.
The pair trained at United’s Carrington base on the morning of the 2-1 City win, and earned praise from Amorim for their efforts.
Within four days, Garnacho was back in the squad for the EFL Cup trip to Tottenham and came off the bench in that loss, and against Bournemouth.
But Rashford missed training immediately after the City game, due to illness, and did not travel with the team, either to the Etihad or Tottenham.
He was seen at Old Trafford on Sunday, in a club tracksuit, and the Boxing Day visit to Wolves will be the next test of whether he has won his way back into Amorim’s favours.
The new United manager has rotated heavily since taking over and would appear likely to continue with that policy given the heavy holiday schedule.
However, he would not be drawn on whether Rashford can expect a recall at Molineux, when asked after the Bournemouth game.
He said: “It depends. We will see.”
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