Marcus Rashford heads for reunion with manager who froze him out

Football has an enduring knack of throwing up unexpected storylines and there could be another in Poland next weekend involving Manchester United, their highest-paid player and former manager.

Last summer, Marcus Rashford was banished by Ruben Amorim and forced to train separately from the main United squad as part of the so-called "bomb squad" before his season-long loan move to Barcelona.

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At that point, plenty – both inside and outside Old Trafford and perhaps even Rashford himself – felt he had played his last game for United and would not return. United gave his No 10 shirt to new arrival Matheus Cunha.

And yet, 12 months on, it is Amorim who is no longer at United and Rashford, remarkably, who could be lining up for his boyhood club once again – and coincidentally against the very manager who pretty quickly resolved the England forward was not going to have a part to play under him at Old Trafford.

Amorim is now in charge at AC Milan and they just happen to be United's opponents in the Polish city of Wroclaw next Saturday when Michael Carrick's side play their final pre-season game before kicking off their Premier League campaign at newly promoted Hull City on August 22.

It is an intriguing subplot in the Rashford saga, one which is expected to gather pace in the coming days as the 28-year-old prepares to report back amid the prospect of a reunion few could have imagined.

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With the transfer window still open for another three weeks, there is the chance that Rashford returns to United for a period yet still departs for a new club. But if he were to go, United would need to replace him in some capacity and that in itself would place an added time pressure on an already delicate situation.

Several Premier League clubs are thought to be monitoring developments and there is still interest on the continent.

The next week will reveal more. United face Paris St-Germain in Gothenburg on Saturday and are due to fly to Ireland straight after the game ahead of a short training camp in Maynooth, Co Kildare. They will then play Leeds at Dublin's Croke Park on Wednesday before travelling from there to Poland for the Milan match.

Rashford, his England team-mate Kobbie Mainoo and Argentina defender Lisandro Martínez are the three remaining players in Carrick's squad still to report back following their World Cup exploits.

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How Carrick plans to reintegrate the trio remains to be seen, but the manager may consider the Leeds game too soon given they would have had only a couple of days of training under their belts by then after the usual, initial round of pre-season testing and assessment. But it would not be a surprise if Rashford was involved against Amorim's Milan.

All things considered, he would have loved to make his loan move to Barcelona permanent this summer.

But the Catalan giants opted against taking up an option to sign the attacker for just €30m (£26m) spread over three instalments and instead signed Anthony Gordon from Newcastle and then Karim Adeyemi from Borussia Dortmund.

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Whether Rashford's wages – which increased at United by 25 per cent this summer up to £325,000 a week on the back of the club's Champions League qualification – dissuaded Barcelona or they simply preferred what Gordon and Adeyemi had to offer is still a little unclear.

Yet Hansi Flick certainly gave the impression a week ago that he would miss Rashford, who scored 11 goals and claimed 14 assists as Barcelona won the Liga title. "He is a fantastic player and a fantastic person," the Barcelona coach said. "The team miss him, I will miss him, but it is life. This is what we have to accept."

This week a year ago Rashford was scoring for Barcelona in a 5-0 win over Daegu FC in Seoul on the club's pre-season tour of Asia. He must have thought that was the beginning of a new career chapter far from Manchester. The immediate reality is very different.

United's transfer activity has slowed since the £35m signing of Youri Tielemans on July 14. There are different reasons for that, but Rashford's future is a factor.

Any move for a left-sided forward or striker is directly linked to what happens with Rashford – who is contracted for another two years – because he can play both positions while the sheer scale of his wages materially affects finances.

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Many fans have conflicted emotions and that is understandable. Feelings towards Rashford soured in those final months under Amorim, who publicly questioned his attitude and application in training before freezing him out, and plenty watched his performances on loan at Aston Villa and then Barcelona and wondered where that player had been for United.

The reception from United supporters will certainly be interesting – there are some who simply want him gone – and it would intensify the pressure on Rashford to step up again.

But history tells us this tends to be nothing a few goals and some stellar displays cannot fix. If he is re-energised, fit and focused, Rashford would still be one of the best attackers in the Premier League and a significant asset for Carrick, who gets on well with the player.

Landing a player of comparable quality at this late stage of the window would also be difficult and costly, just as there would be inherent risks in selling him to a leading Premier League rival should one come knocking.

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It is understood that some of Rashford's United team-mates have been in touch saying they are looking forward to having him back.

This is not the same team the forward left behind either. Amorim has gone – and his controversial 3-4-2-1 with it – and the attack has been supplemented by the likes of Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko. Bruno Fernandes remains formidable and the midfield has been reshaped, even if it would still benefit from another addition.

United cannot rely solely on an ageing Luke Shaw and are in the market for a new left-back, but Rashford was often at his best working in tandem with Shaw down that flank, not that the defender can tear up and down it like he once did.

Then there is Rashford himself. He would have liked to continue his adventure in Spain and may still end up abroad. But those 12 months experiencing a new country, culture and league after more than two decades in the United bubble will doubtless have broadened his horizons and provided time to reset and rethink. A lengthy separation may have done both parties some good.

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If there are tensions, they are more likely to be off the pitch behind the scenes. But all Carrick will be bothered about, if Rashford stays, is getting the best version of a player who still has the capacity to be a potent weapon.

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