Alan Shearer believes Marcus Rashford looks ‘moody’ and ‘very unhappy’ at Manchester United.
Rashford has not scored in his past 12 games for United, reflecting the team’s inconsistent season under Erik ten Hag. In the recent 1-0 victory against Luton Town, the England international’s ongoing difficulties were evident when he missed a clear one-on-one opportunity created by Antony. When questioned about Rashford’s current lack of form at United, Shearer shared his thoughts with Premier League productions.
‘I think the simple answer is we don’t know because we’re not within the football club.
‘But what we’re looking at is someone who clearly looks very unhappy.
‘He looks moody, and when that’s the case you’re never going to perform at your best.”
‘Whether he feels he’s better than what’s at Old Trafford at this moment in time, I don’t know. Whether he feels let down by recruitment because he went to another levels in terms of his goals last year. The club haven’t gone to it this season which maybe he wanted or expected to.
‘You’re not seeing a happy footballer, you’re not seeing a happy person at this moment in time in Marcus Rashford. He looks a different player for England than he does for Manchester United.‘
In the meantime, Jermain Defoe concurs that Rashford appears discontented at United, pointing to his late missed opportunity in the victory against Luton Town at Old Trafford as indicative of the forward’s present circumstances at the club.
Asked if he believed United thought Rashford would improve even further this season, Defoe said: ‘Yeah, I think so.
‘And I think you have to, that’s the pressure of a centre forward, you score 30 goals one season, can you score 31 next season? I think that’s the sort of pressure you have to put on yourself, I think you have to be obsessed with scoring goals, it’s a good pressure.
‘Listen, I love Marcus Rashford, as Al [Shearer] said, when he plays for England he seems like a completely different player.
‘When you look at his vibe and his body language, he doesn’t look happy. That can affect your performance.
‘You see the last chance [against Luton] where he takes two touches, you think a confident Marcus Rashford would hit that first time, where all these familiar situations and instincts kick in. He just seems off it at the minute and they just need to get him back to his best.’