Marcus Rashford is “wasting his talent” and needs “strong management” after missing Manchester United’s FA Cup win over Newport County due to what boss Erik ten Hag described as “an internal matter”.
That is the view of former Newcastle United and England striker Alan Shearer, who believes Rashford will look back on his career with plenty of regrets if he continues down his current path.
Rashford was absent from United’s squad for Sunday’s 4-2 triumph at Rodney Parade after reporting ill for training.
However, Ten Hag suggested there may be more to the matter ahead of the game, after Rashford was pictured at a Belfast nightclub on Thursday, mere hours before he missed Friday’s session.
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Speaking in his role as a BBC Sport pundit before Sunday’s match, Shearer called on Rashford to change course before it’s too late.
“If it’s an internal matter, you’d think something is up. There’s a huge talent in there with Marcus Rashford,” Shearer said.
“We’ve seen him be disciplined last season when he was late to a meeting before a game but something is clearly wrong, either at home or in his relationship with the football club.
“He can’t keep doing this, he can’t keep wasting his talent because it’s not right.”
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Rashford has only scored four goals in 26 appearances across all competitions this season, having netted 30 times in 56 games during Ten Hag’s first campaign at the helm.
This week’s incident is the latest in a long line of disciplinary issues to face Ten Hag since he took over at Old Trafford.
Rashford was dropped for being late ahead of a trip to Wolves last season, while Cristiano Ronaldo was released by the club after criticising the Dutchman in an inflammatory interview and Jadon Sancho recently returned to Borussia Dortmund on loan after a public spat with his manager.
“He needs strong management, someone to get hold of him and tell him there’ll be huge regrets come the end of his career if he continues doing this,” Shearer said of Rashford.
“You can’t keep doing it, it needs sorting now. Thirty goals last season, four this season.
“When I see him play, it looks like he’s got the world on his shoulders so it needs sorting now because he can’t really deal with it.”
