
Manchester United
Premier League • England
Merson fears Rashford exit could cost Amorim his job as Man Utd are urged to target surprise Prem striker

Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim and, inset, Paul Merson
Paul Merson has questioned Ruben Amorim for his recklessness in driving Marcus Rashford out of Old Trafford after he was told he will ‘never play for Manchester United again’ and with the Sky Sports pundit advising who they should sign as his replacement.
Rashford finally escaped his Manchester United misery by completing a loan move to Aston Villa for the remainder of the season, with Unai Emery’s side covering the large bulk of his £325,000 a week salary and also securing with it an option to make the move permanent for £40m in the summer. All eyes will be on the 27-year-old at Villa Park to see if he can resurrect his career and recapture the sort of form that has earned him 60 England caps.
However, while the likes of Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher have welcomed the move to the Midlands for Rashford – believing it represents a great chance to get his career back on track – not everyone is convinced by his departure.
And Sky Sports pundit Merson feels the way Amorim has driven Rashford out of Old Trafford could come back to haunt him, claiming his job could be on the line if the player starts delivering the goods for Villa.
“I think the manager is running out of ideas,” Merson said on Sky Sports. “What he has done with Rashford is mind-blowing.
“I think his job is on the line with Rashford. If he gets 10 [goals] in 10 [games for Villa] you would be seriously asking questions, ‘what are you doing?'”
Merson also feels United need to re-think their attacking strategy after leaving it too late in the window to get another body through the door and with interest in the likes of Mathys Tel and Christopher Nkunku ultimately counting for nothing.
“United need a big strong lad up front. They should go and get [Jean-Philippe] Mateta. But they won’t because he plays for Palace.
“He is 100 times better than what they have at Man Utd, apart from [Amad] Diallo.”
READ MORE: Gary Neville reveals exactly how Marcus Rashford will fare at Aston Villa
Rashford told Man Utd career is over
Mateta moved to Palace four years ago, signing for an initial €3m loan fee which became a permanent €15m move later that year, meaning the Eagles paid a total of £14.8m for his services.
In that time he has scored 39 goals in 118 games – two of which came on Sunday as Oliver Glasner’s side eased to a 2-0 victory over United at Old Trafford.
Whether United move to target the powerful Frenchman in the summer remains to be seen, though he would give their attack a very different outlook owing to his towering 6ft 4in frame.
Regardless of what happens in the summer or down the line with Amorim, who has now lost eight of his 19 matches in charge of Manchester United, Rashford has been told that he will never pull on a Red Devils shirt again.
And as per The Guardian, Rashford will be denied the chance to play for his boyhood club again even if Amorim isn’t in charge.
Their report stated: ‘Marcus Rashford is extremely unlikely to play competitively for Manchester United again even if Ruben Amorim is no longer the head coach, with the relationship between the forward and his boyhood club near irreparable.
‘It is understood, too, that there is no call-back clause in the forward’s loan terms with Aston Villa should he start to score prolifically.’
Man Utd latest: Reasons why Spurs won Tel race; another exit confirmed today
Meanwhile, it has emerged that Tottenham were willing to satisfy two conditions that United were not in the race to land talented Bayern Munich attacker Tel in the closing hours of the winter transfer window.
United had been in the mix to sign the striker having been boosted by his preference to move to Old Trafford, but failed to strike a deal, leaving the teenager to resurrect his move to Spurs, which beat the deadline by minutes. He could now debut against United on February 16.
Elsewhere, Tyrell Malacia can expect to finalise his move to PSV Eindhoven later on Tuesday after travelling to his homeland for a medical and with United already agreeing to his exit.
How Mateta has fared for Crystal Palace down the years
