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It would be difficult to overstate just how important Marcus Rashford was to Manchester United last season. The English forward enjoyed the best season of his career under the careful stewardship Erik ten Hag as he reached the coveted thirty goal mark in all competitions for the first time. Eleven assists were provided as well; an equally impressive number for a man playing alongside Wout Weghorst for six months.
United’s attack bordered on dysfunctional last season. 58 league goals represents a substandard return for a top four team – only Aston Villa and Fulham scored less amongst the top half of the league. Arsenal and United conceded the same number of goals last year, yet finished thirty apart in terms of goal difference. It is evident at which end of the pitch ten Hag’s side struggled.
Which is why the 17 goals (with no penalties!) provided by Rashford was so impressive. Mohammed Salah, the only player to have scored more than Rashford last season who also does not operate in the number nine position, scored 19 with two penalties to supplement. Liverpool scored 75 league goals, meaning Salah was responsible for 25.3% of this total. Rashford’s contributions relative to United’s paltry total slots him in at 29.3%. Even Erling Haaland, minus his penalty goals, accounts for only 30.9% of Manchester City’s total goals last year. Rashford is in excellent company as a goal scorer. Manchester United’s number ten had an objectively great season; subjectively, within the context of a poor attacking unit, he bordered on fantastic.
Sofascore further details how Rashford only slightly overperformed his xG across the season. 17 leagues goals from an xG of 15.47 suggests a player capable of consistently converting the chances he should, while reserving the ability to score some he should not. To wildly overperform your xG is an unsustainable achievement; to drastically underperform is an undesirable accolade. The fact Rashford was able to fashion chances for himself at a comparable rate to his ability to convert them bodes well for next season. Gabriel Martinelli, Rashford’s most comparable player on the top scorers list, scored 15 goals from an xG of 9.33. Statically he is unlikely to repeat such a feat.
Which brings us to the pertinent point. Marcus Rashford is Manchester United’s best, and most consistent, goal scorer. He operates optimally on the left, able to utilise his devastating pace to exploit the half-space between fullback and centre-halve. In an ideal world Rashford would continue, uninterrupted, in this area of the pitch while a new centre-forward is acquired for him to play off.
Harry Kane is reportedly the number one target for this role – Ten Hag is described as ‘obsessed’ with the English captain. It’s easy to see why. He would be the perfect player for Rashed to combine with, given Kane’s tendency to drop deep and quality to find team mates in the space he has vacated.
The Kane and Son partnership – the most productive in Premier League history – offers the template for how he and Rashford would collaborate at Old Trafford. Kane was also able to contribute 25 non-penalty league goals to a Tottenham team which could have provided the dictionary definition of ‘dysfunctional’. This equates to a staggering 35.7% of Tottenham’s total; comfortably the highest percentage in the league. Kane guarantees goals and he guarantees goals for others – Ten Hag’s obsession is justified.
Yet the chances of Kane arriving this summer are virtually non-existent. The ability to successfully do business with Daniel Levy appears slimmer than shady, while United’s capacity to provide the requisite amount for such a transfer is shadier than slim. With expensive deals already agreed for Mason Mount and, prospectively, Andre Onana, as reported by The Peoples Person, the budget is unlikely to stretch much further without significant outgoings.
Furthermore, Kane has only twelve months left on his contract. Is the English forward worth around £100 million? Potentially. Is the English forward worth around £100 million for, essentially, one year of football? Absolutely not. United will be able to revisit the Kane question in a year’s time, without having to deal with Daniel Levy – a priceless benefit.
This would leave Manchester United without a viable number nine for the coming season however. And given the level of investment United’s rivals are making, with City, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal all improving their squads, rolling the dice without a goal scorer up front could prove a disastrous gamble. But if the plan is to move for Kane in twelve months’ time, does a traditional centre-forward, in the mould of Rasmus Højlund, make sense at an exorbitant price this summer? How would Kane and Højlund operate in the same team? While a forward like Randal Kolo-Muani could be a more compatible option, as explained here, perhaps the most cost-effective solution is an internal one.
Rashford played up front last season for United nineteen times according to Transfermarkt, scoring eleven times with a further five assists. An impressive return and one which means ten Hag should give serious consideration to Rashford as the short-term solution to the primary issue with the long-term plan for Kane. Indeed, Rashford’s most impressive performance of the season came in the combative cauldron of Camp Nou, where the electric Englishman terrorised the Barcelona defence through the centre of the pitch, scoring one and assisting another.
Reports indicate, moreover, a left-winger remains an option for United this summer, with ten Hag allegedly striving for more depth in that position. This desire, however, would only make sense if Old Trafford’s current left-winger may be subject to a temporary relocation while the club waits for Kane. While Rashford wears the esteemed number ten, his manager may be able to secure an effective short-term number nine by merely subtracting one from his current star man.
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