Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has insisted that Marcus Rashford’s return to the matchday squad is proof of his repeated insistence that the door remains open for the striker.
After falling out of the last four amid public admission of his desire for a “new challenge”, Rashford returned to the bench for Monday’s meeting with Newcastle United.
His return coincides with the suspension of captain Bruno Fernandes, while United are also without the suspended Manuel Ugarte and the injured Mason Mount, and Amorim admitted his limited options contributed to the decision to drop Rashford.
“Selection and we have a lot of players out,” Amorim explained when asked why Rashford had returned. “As I said every week, I pick the opponent’s players and he was available for selection. This time he is here.”
Matthijs de Ligt and Joshua Zirkzee have also been restored to the united starting line-up, with Amorim admitting he hopes to counter Newcastle’s potent threat.
“In the beginning I made changes for training and now it’s to win games, I always try to win games,” he explained. “The team is at the same level, so I try to use the characteristics of the opponent.”
