Harry Maguire Backs Marcus Rashford to Shine Again for Manchester United
Harry Maguire backs “driven and hungry” Marcus Rashford to fire again for Manchester United this season, insisting the forward can still be a “great asset” at Old Trafford after a turbulent spell away from the club.
Rashford, 28, made his first Premier League start for United in 21 months in the 5-2 win over Ipswich, and looked like the old danger again – direct, sharp, and one of United’s main attacking threats.
Not long ago, his United future looked broken beyond repair. A fallout with former boss Ruben Amorim pushed him out on loan, first to Aston Villa and then Barcelona. The Catalan club had the option to make the move permanent for £26m and would have kept him had they triggered it. They didn’t. With the transfer window closing on Tuesday night, Rashford now looks set to stay at his boyhood club.
“He’s a great talent. He’s always a threat,” said Maguire, who has ridden out his own storms at Old Trafford. “If Marcus wants to be here, wants to work, wants to improve and help the team, of course we’re willing to have him in the team.
“He could still do a lot more and I think he’ll say he can do more but if we keep him fit, we keep him happy, he keeps driven and hungry, he’s a great asset to have.”
The noise around Rashford has been loud and often hostile for years, stretching back to Erik ten Hag’s reign. His work-rate has been picked apart, his commitment questioned, even his love for the game doubted.
Time away changed the picture. Under Unai Emery at Villa and Hansi Flick at Barcelona, Rashford found fresh ideas and a different environment. Now he returns to a United side led by Michael Carrick, a coach who knows him, his personality and his game inside out. Inside the club, that familiarity is seen as a major plus.
“You’ve got to remember Marcus has had a wonderful career for this club,” Maguire said. “But when you play at this club for numerous years, there’s going to be bad seasons, and when the bad seasons come everyone piles on you. That’s part and parcel of playing for this club.
“As a club, we haven’t been perfect from top to bottom. We haven’t been challenging at the top end. So, Marcus has been part of a rough ride for Manchester United.
“When that happens, players get dug out. I’ve been through it.”
Maguire knows the cycle well. He lost his place and the captaincy under Ten Hag and looked destined to leave at one stage. Instead, he stayed, rebuilt, and now speaks as someone who understands the scrutiny Rashford faces.
“[Marcus has] come back in, really fit and sharp and we’re excited to have him,” he added.
Carrick has described Rashford as “like a new signing”, a phrase that carries weight given what the manager has already done with Kobbie Mainoo. The midfielder was repeatedly overlooked by Amorim but has been revitalised under Carrick, only to suffer a fresh setback when England boss Thomas Tuchel failed to give him a single minute at the World Cup.
Mainoo started his first game of the season against Ipswich and, after United fell behind, slowly took control of his part of the pitch.
“I thought he was brilliant,” said Maguire. “To say he hasn’t had many minutes in pre-season, he was magnificent.
“His work without the ball has improved so much since Michael’s been in. He’s becoming a real monster in there, wins a lot of second balls and a lot of duels.”
The praise came with a reminder. Mainoo is still at the beginning.
“The thing is he’s so young. If we want him to play for this club for another 10 years, there’s going to be times where he’s going to go through a patch like I spoke about with Rashy and myself.
“But that’s part and parcel. He’s really level-headed, really composed and has great belief in his ability.
“He’s going to be a magnificent player for this club for many years.”
United now stand at an intriguing crossroads. Rashford, once seemingly out of the door, is back in the starting XI. Mainoo, once overlooked, is growing into a central figure. Carrick has two players who have already tasted the harshest side of elite football. The question is simple: can they turn that experience into the backbone of United’s next era?
