Man Utd frontrunners to sign £58m Rashford upgrade

Journeys to Molineux have typically marked notable moments for Manchester United star Marcus Rashford in latest instances, with the Pink Devils’ Boxing Day conflict towards Wolverhampton Wanderers having been no totally different.

Again in December 2022, throughout Erik ten Hag’s first season in cost, the Englishman was dropped to the bench after he had been late to a team meeting earlier within the week. The ahead, then in a wealthy vein of kind put up the Qatar World Cup, duly responded by netting an excellent solo effort after getting into the fray on the interval.

That will have been a small infraction because of a missed alarm, but issues had cranked up a notch when the 2 sides met within the Midlands once more earlier this 12 months. Rashford opened the scoring in that dramatic 4-3 victory, having been reinstated to the aspect after initially being disciplined by Ten Hag for a mid-season trip to Belfast.

Amid a rocky relationship with the previous Ajax boss, the 27-year-old was little doubt hoping to get pleasure from a contemporary begin following Ruben Amorim’s arrival. Simply over a month into the Portuguese’s tenure, Rashford is already nowhere to be seen, with Thursday’s defeat to the Previous Gold marking a fourth sport in a row with out the ahead even making the matchday squad.

With Amorim hinting that the academy graduate nonetheless hasn’t finished sufficient to win him over in his post-match interview – and with Rashford himself publicly admitting a need for “a new challenge” – the curtain may quickly be drawn on his prolonged United affiliation. A alternative, and even an improve, will quickly be wanted.

Man Utd’s search to switch Rashford

The Athletic reported on Boxing Day {that a} everlasting exit in January seems unlikely for the £300k-per-week downside because of his hefty wage, though a mortgage departure may characterize a possible compromise, within the mould of Jadon Sancho’s change to Borussia Dortmund earlier this 12 months.

Ought to United’s quantity ten transfer on to pastures new, an already waning ahead line will probably be left significantly depleted, therefore the necessity to fill that ‘void’.

With that in thoughts, studies in Spain have prompt that Amorim is personally pushing for the membership to land the star of their midweek defeat, Matheus Cunha, with the 39-year-old viewing the Brazilian because the ‘superb choice’ to bolster his assault.

The suggestion is that the Previous Trafford aspect are ‘main the race’ for Cunha’s signature at current, though they might possible need to cough up at the least €70m (£58m) – as reported elsewhere – to safe a January deal.

How Cunha compares to Rashford

It’s no actual shock that Cunha has caught the attention of Amorim and people at INEOS, with the previous Atletico Madrid man showcasing every thing that United – and Rashford – are missing throughout Wolves’ 2-0 triumph.

As journalist Samuel Luckhurst said through the sport, the in-form marksman was merely “sensational” on the day, representing a participant that the Pink Devils “have to be looking to get” in 2025.

Certainly, not solely did Cunha curl within the sport’s opener straight from a nook – in addition to tee up Hwang Hee-chan for the house aspect’s second – however his work each out and in of possession was actually exceptional, as indicated under.

Working behind centre-forward Jorgen Strand Larsen, the 25-year-old was an actual livewire, winning 14 duels, drawing 5 fouls and efficiently finishing 4 dribbles.

Described as “world-class” by journalist George Lakin – whereas additionally lauded as a “special player” by supervisor Vitor Pereira – the one-time Hertha Berlin man now boasts ten Premier League goals this season, having additionally created 11 ‘huge probabilities’ and registered an additional 4 assists, as per Sofascore.

Rashford, as an illustration, has scored simply four league goals in 2024/25, whereas creating solely 4 ‘huge probabilities’ and offering only a solitary help. Three of these strikes could have come underneath Amorim’s watch, though he nonetheless clearly is not doing sufficient to impress.

The distinction in kind and high quality can be seen of their work defensively, with Cunha averaging two tackles and interceptions per sport within the top-flight this season. His United counterpart, in the meantime, averages just 0.8 in that regard.

Equally, it is not as if this marketing campaign is a flash within the pan for Wolves’ talisman, as he additionally chipped in with 12 goals and nine assists in 2023/24, whereas Rashford distinctly underwhelmed underneath Ten Hag, with simply seven goals and two assists to his title.

Now outperforming United’s quantity ten throughout at the least the final 18 months, the in-demand expertise would characterize the Premier League-proven improve that Amorim is craving.

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