Micah Richards has shed new light on the situation involving Marcus Rashford at Manchester United, revealing what he's heard from the player's camp.
Rashford has found himself completely frozen out at United under Ruben Amorim and has not featured for his boyhood club since a 2-1 Europa League win over Viktoria Plzen on 12 December.
He has been continually left out of matchday squads, with the exception of a rare appearance on the bench against Newcastle United.
His relationship with Amorim is fractured and it was recently reported that the two are no longer on speaking terms - with Rashford only spoken to as part of a group.
Amorim has taken issue with what he perceives to be a lack of effort from Rashford in training and said he would put 63-year-old goalkeeping coach Jorge Vital on the bench over "a player that doesn’t give the maximum every day".
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However, former Manchester City and England defender Richards has been in close contact with Rashford's camp and they have a theory about the public criticism he is receiving.
“It’s so sad, I mean just looking it from a human perspective, in terms of a player of all that ability, the fact that the manager calls you out publicly,” Richards said on the Rest is Football podcast.
“It doesn’t really sit well with me – not just me, but the fact that I would love to know the full story.
“I would love to because I’ve got people who are close to Marcus texting me saying it’s a tactic because they want to get rid of him, that’s what I’ve heard.”
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Rashford was initially dropped for the Manchester derby win against rivals City along with Alejandro Garnacho, though the Argentina international has since returned to the fold, with Amorim claiming he "changed right away".
With the sticking point being that Rashford is supposedly well below the expected standards in training, Richards can't get his head around why he is still on the club's books as transfer deadline day approaches.
Richards continued: “If that is the case, why haven’t they just got rid of him?
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“Like why has he not got on a loan or why don’t they say they will take the loss of some of the wages… if he’s that much of a problem, why is he still training?
“I’ve heard he’s sometimes training with the Under-23s, sometimes he’s training with the first team, I just don’t get the whole situation, it’s bizarre.”
Rashford has been linked with a slew of clubs, including Barcelona, AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund.
Fresh reports from The Athletic claim Aston Villa are considering a late loan move for Rashford after allowing Jhon Duran to sign for Al Nassr in a £64.5 million.
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Though he would prefer to join Barcelona, Villa see him as one of many options to add to their forward line.
Rashford is contracted until 2028 and his mammoth £325,000 salary have made any possible transfer much more difficult.
Topics: Micah Richards, Manchester United, Marcus Rashford, Ruben Amorim, Premier League
Josh Lawless