Martin Keown believes one Manchester United star is ‘lucky’ not to have been dropped by his national team – but it’s fair to say the player in question delivered quite the response to his critics over the weekend.
In a way, that 3-1 derby defeat to Man City in early-March summed up how the season has gone for Marcus Rashford, at times.
It was, of course, a performance which will be remembered for one of the finest goals ever scored in the fixture, the Manchester United number ten blasting a fierce shot in off the crossbar to give Erik ten Hag’s side an early lead at the Etihad Stadium.
But, while Ten Hag was quick to point out post-match that Rashford had been struggling with a slight rib injury, was that enough to excuse the forward miscontrolling when in on goal just a few minutes after opening the scoring?
Rashford went missing to a large extent after that eighth minute blockbuster, another game in which the Carrington graduate made the difficult look easy and the easy look difficult.
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Martin Keown, the former Arsenal, Everton and Aston Villa defender, may have gone a little overboard when suggesting that Rashford should have suffered the Kalvin Phillips treatment while losing his spot in Gareth Southgate’s squad.
“I do actually (think he is lucky to be called-up),” Keown told talkSPORT (15 March, 10am). “And I think it’s time now for him to do something special.”
Well, how about this for ‘something special’. Yes, Rashford should have ensured that United avoided half an hour of extra time drama at Old Trafford, missing with virtually the last kick of normal time during that 4-3 FA Cup triumph over arch rivals Liverpool.
But while cancelling out Harvey Elliott’s strike in extra time, Rashford maintained his remarkable record against ‘top six’ opposition while scoring in a third successive match.
And if Fernando Torres was Nemanja Vidic’s so-called ‘bogeyman’ – despite netting only three in 15 against the Serb – what is Rashford now to Virgil van Dijk, notching past the Dutchman for a seventh time on Sunday.
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Keown, who was at the centre of that infamous spat with Ruud van Nistelrooy two decades ago, believes Rashford would benefit from simplifying his game a little bit, and trading in those mazy runs down cul-de-sacs for the sort of one-touch finish which drew United level with Liverpool on 112 minutes.
“He is an impact player,” Keown adds, while also expressing concerns over Rashford’s off-the-ball work. “I want him to stay high and wide and away from the ball. He seems to do too much with the ball. Stay high and wide and score those goals he gets.
“(At the moment) he doesn’t look as if he’s totally engaged. You cant afford to carry anybody when you don’t have possession.
“The really top players, the first (Brazilian) Ronaldo, he was like a panther. Nothing is rushed. Sometimes, with Rashford, everything is 100 miles an hour and its a goal you’ll never score again.”
Ten Hag confirmed at his Friday press conference that there are no plans to cash in on Rashford, amid yet more rumours of a potential move to Paris Saint-Germain.