Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has finally broken his silence regarding Marcus Rashford’s recent loan move to Aston Villa, while also addressing the club’s seemingly quiet transfer deadline day.
Rashford’s loan deal includes an option for Villa to make the transfer permanent for a reported £40 million at the end of the season.
The England forward had been conspicuously absent from the United squad since their Europa League victory over Viktoria Plzen on December 12th, raising questions about his future at Old Trafford.
However, Amorim remained tight-lipped about Rashford’s situation when questioned ahead of United’s FA Cup fourth-round clash against Leicester City.
“Guys, in the summer,” Amorim stated, deferring any detailed discussion until the end of the season. “Like we said before, we are fighting for our jobs until the summer. I am just focused on these games. Marcus is in Birmingham now with Unai, so you can direct your questions to another coach. We are just focused on our players.”
Rashford’s departure, coupled with Antony’s loan move to Real Betis, left Manchester United fans wondering why the club failed to secure any attacking reinforcements before the transfer window slammed shut.
While the club did sign defenders Patrick Dorgu from Lecce and Ayden Heaven from Arsenal, the lack of attacking options remains a concern given their struggles in front of goal.
Despite the perceived risk of entering the remainder of the season with a depleted attack, Amorim defended the club’s transfer strategy, emphasizing the need to avoid repeating past mistakes.
“What I feel is that the club is taking its time,” he explained. “We know the urgency of the moment for the team, everybody here doesn’t want to make the same mistakes of the past. In the summer, we will see.”
Amorim acknowledged the difficulty of turning things around quickly, anticipating a challenging remainder of the season.
“I think it’s a moment that is hard to turn things around in a few games. It’s going to be like that, really hard until the end of the season. Then we are taking that risk that you talk about because we want a different thing in our team and we want different profiles.”
He emphasized that the transfer decisions were his, and that the club is deliberately taking risks in order to reshape the squad with players that fit his vision.
“That is my area. It was my decision to do that. Like I said, we are taking some risks, but it’s the way we want to proceed. We want to win some games. We can improve our team, we will have time to train because I was always complaining about the [lack of] time to train. So now, we have time to train, we are going to improve the team, the players and, like I said, I want a certain type of players – different profile – and we are changing right away.”