Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has opened up about wanting to continue working with Marcus Rashford at the club despite the striker considering an exit. Ten Hag’s confession comes after the England ace is heavily linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain. The Parisians are in the hunt of a new striker to sandwich in between Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi in the attack.
Rashford, who has reportedly been unhappy with his stay at Old Trafford in recent years is now being targeted by the French champions. The forward has just another year left on his United deal, with an option of extending it by another season. However, that looks highly unlikely since he wants to leave now itself.
Don’t want to lose him: Ten Hag when asked about Marcus Rashford
Marcus Rashford has been unable to regain his blistering form at United since the EURO heartbreak with England. A long-term shoulder injury further kept him out of action for majority of the last season. As a result, the 24-year-old could only manage 15 starts across the Premier League and the Champions League, scoring a merely 5 goals.
However, ESPN claim that the player is open to leave his boyhood cub and accept a new challenge at PSG. The report further adds that informal talks have already taken place between the player’s agents and the Parisians. But, PSG are yet to approach United on formal grounds for the transfer of the young forward.
Amidst these links, Ten Hag speaking in his presser ahead of United’s Premier League clash against Brentford said, “He’s really important, you have seen from the first day I’m here, I’m really happy with him, I don’t want to lose him, he’s definitely in our plans at Manchester United.”
The Dutchman further added that he expects Marcus Rashford to shrug-off his disappointing start to the new season where he missed a couple of sitters in United’s loss against Brighton. He said: “I analyse the game, what went well, what went wrong, where can we improve, what do we have to improve, how we can train and we tell the players and show them how to improve and to get solutions.
“We learned a lot but I think it’s normal, when you start the season. You get the team together and get a way of playing and it’s a new start and you make mistakes, football is a game of mistakes. We know we have to improve in many things, that is clear.
“I know there is always pressure, I have the experience, how it is, I know we have to win every game, I know the fans, I know everyone expects Manchester United to win every game, we have to deal with that and all I can do is prepare the team as well as I can this weekend.”
Recent reports reveal that United, while ready to let go of their academy graduate, want a mammoth fee of almost £120 million from his sale. While PSG would certainly not shell that amount, Rashford could help them push for a move if he finds the idea of linking up with Messi, Mbappe and Neymar in Paris.