Michael Carrick’s former teammate shares a special reason behind the scenes that will help Marcus Rashford make a great comeback.
Michael Carrick has something special that could really help when it comes to bringing Marcus Rashford back into the Manchester United team, says Michael Owen. Rashford is back at Old Trafford for the end of pre-season after Barcelona decided not to make his loan move permanent.
The 28-year-old was picked in Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup squad and put on an amazing show in England’s thrilling 6-4 win over France in the third-place match. He scored his only goal of the tournament in England’s 4-2 group stage win against Croatia and showed he’s a key part of the Three Lions team.
Now, Rashford has been given the number 14 shirt at United and, unless a big offer comes in, it looks like he’ll stay at Old Trafford beyond the summer transfer window. He’s reported to be United’s highest-paid player, earning about £325,000 a week, boosted by a 25% pay rise for helping the team qualify for the Champions League.
United only gave that pay rise to players who played in at least 60% of last season’s matches, but Rashford qualified because he signed his latest contract before that rule changed. While his big salary and the fact that interested clubs might not match it probably helped keep him, Owen thinks his relationship with Carrick, unlike with other United managers, was a big factor.
Owen told SPORTbible, “It’s really interesting because if anyone can help sort things out, it’s Michael Carrick. He has such a nice attitude. He was mates with everyone, and no one has a bad word to say about him. You’d want to play for him and help him.”
He added, “Carrick and Rashford know each other from before, and they probably got along well. If it was anyone else, maybe Rashford’s future would be uncertain. But Rashford is an important player and United can’t just give up on him. Unless someone pays the right money, they’ll have to keep using him.”
Not long ago, people thought Rashford might never play for United again, so Owen says he’s a bit unsure about what will happen next.
Carrick hasn’t said much in public this summer, but he did mention his “history” with Rashford when talking about pre-season. “We have a few days in Dublin with the whole squad, including Marcus, Kobbie Mainoo, and Lisandro Martinez,” Carrick said. “I played with Marcus and was in the game when he made his debut, so we go way back.”
The Athletic also says Rashford is excited to work with Carrick again, but he’ll have to wait a little to play for United once more. Like all players who reached the World Cup semi-finals, Rashford just finished his mandatory rest. He might get some minutes when United face big rivals Leeds at Croke Park in Dublin on Wednesday evening.