Tragedy if Rashford ends up as collateral damage...
OLD TRAFFORD NO PLACE FOR YOUTH
BEFORE Marcus Rashford, there was Adnan Januzaj. He was a teenager when he played his first game for Manchester United. He got among the goals early in his career, too.
There were soon calls for him to be fast-tracked into the England team. And he was considered to be the future of the club in the post-Ferguson years, and even handed Ryan Giggs’s No 11 shirt.
Ed Woodward, United’s executive vice-chairman, regarded Januzaj’s new contract as the most important signing of his first year in the job.
So what then happened to Januzaj? Manchester United happened to Januzaj. The peculiar dynamics of the modern elite club happened to Januzaj.
He was the collateral damage of the brand leader United think they should be. Who knows if he will ever find a way through at Old Trafford from here. And who knows if Rashford can avoid a similar dead end, for all his first-season promise?
It seems mad to think Rashford might not have the brightest imaginable future at Manchester United. He has been the saviour of an otherwise underwhelming season. United failed in Europe, and may yet finish outside the Champions League qualification places for a second time in three years, but mention of Rashford’s name brings the broadest of smiles.
He is the battlefield promotion, who has played and scored like a millionaire; he is everythingything United fans think their club is about. Yet so was Janunuzaj. In David Moyes’ss only season at United, he played the Rashford role. He was the breakout star, the saving grace. If United have got a few more like him, it was said, the future cannot be bleak.
Yet the following summmer, United signed Angelgel di Maria.
With Wayne Rooney, Robinobin van Persie and Juan Mata also to be accommodated in the forward line, Januzaj was squeezed out. For all of the talk of Manchester United’s youth policy, marquee signings are as much a part of the culture of the club. Certainly, that is Woodward’s view.
An executive with a commercial background, he has concerns another year outside the Champi- ons League will serio us l you impact on United’sU global standing.s He feels the reputationu of the club — particularly in unsophisticated,u ye ty lucrative, foreigne markets— hingeshi on its ability to attract world stars,stars particularly if not involvedinv in the most prestigioustii tournament. With United’s rivals all looking to upgrade, expect Woodward to try to keep pace. And no club ever got big in Japan by showing off a new left back. Matchwinners make the news, and United will target them as they have in the last two summers. That was the thinking behind the arrival of Radamel Falcao — signed when United already had Rooney, Van Persie, Javier Hernandez and a queue of young players including Danny Welbeck, James Wilson, Wilfried Zaha and Jesse Lingard.
It didn’t matter. Falcao’s transfer made a splash, a big statement, after United’s lowest league finish since 1990. It did not work as intended, long term; but it did at the time. It showed the world United were still in the game.
United’s forward line is already overcrowded. Against West Ham last week, a young trio comprising Rashford, Lingard and Anthony Martial i mpressed with their movement.
Rooney came back in at the weekend, against Aston Villa, Martial and Lingard dropping to the bench. It may be Rashford’s turn against Crystal Palace tomorrow, and Louis van Gaal, the manager, can easily justify it. He’s young, he’s had a good run, he needs a break.
Yet what of next season? What happens if United land a couple of big ones: Bale and Edinson Cavani, f or i nstance, or Romelu Lukaku?
Where does that leave the three who performed so impressively at Upton Park?
Martial is a costly acquisition, but Rashford and Lingard? They are in similar positions to Januzaj. They are kids having a good first season.
When Di Maria arrived, f ew thought it odd that he commanded a regular place and Januzaj did not.
There have been problems with Januzaj, of course. He did not take well to first-team exile, Van Gaal thought he should work harder when he did get opportunities and he disappointed when farmed out to Borussia Dortmund on loan.
Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel questioned his attitude and, back at United, Januzaj angered Van Gaal by not taking an Under 21 match with Sunderland seriously.
It is easy to dismiss Januzaj as a promising kid who lost his way, except his disengagement appears to be the direct product of United’s decision to buy expensive forwards — Memphis Depay the latest — who cannot help but interfere with the progress of youth.
Jose Mourinho would be a poor choice for Manchester United, it is said, because he does not give young players a chance. Yet that may become less of a factor.
If Woodward intends proving a point in the market this summer, where will the next generation fit in?
Manchester United want more than just the best young striker in Britain; they want to show they are still No 1. And you sell nothing with kids.