Pundit Garth Crooks has aimed a dig at former Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho following Marcus Rashford’s fine performance against Norwich City.
Rashford put in a fine display against Norwich as the Red Devils strolled to an emphatic 4-0 victory at Old Trafford, and the England international’s performance earned him a place in Crooks’ Premier League team of the week.
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While it’s certainly good to see Rashford’s form improve in recent times, especially with Euro 2020 coming up in the summer, it’s unclear quite why Crooks immediately felt the need to dig out Mourinho over this.
Writing in his column for BBC Sport, Crooks praised the 22-year-old, but made the point that he felt he’d most likely no longer be at the club or else be playing in the reserves if Mourinho were still in charge.
He said: “The way Rashford nonchalantly took his first goal against Norwich told you all you need to know about his development. The casual manner in which he celebrated screamed ‘this is just what I do for a living’ and that it was simply business as usual.
“I can’t help but feel if Jose Mourinho was still at Old Trafford, Rashford would be playing for a club abroad or in the reserves – instead, he is now flourishing at the club he loves.”
This seems a strange assumption to make given that Rashford was just as much of a regular under Mourinho as he has been under current boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
The Portuguese tactician may have a reputation for neglecting talented young players, but in fairness to him Rashford was not one of them, while midfielder Scott McTominay also first enjoyed his breakthrough in the senior side under the Special One.