Time For marcuS to Stay ... or Go?

MARCUS RASHFORD being left out of the England squad will have him thinking hard about his future, I can guarantee.

I know, because I was in that place in a similar way when I was supposed to be at the height of my career, just as Rashford (above) is now.

It will hurt him. And it will bring home hard just how he has stalled right now. And he will be questioning whether he has to move to get the game time and support he needs.

It happened to me with Liverpool. I loved that club and didn’t want to move.

Desperately didn’t want to move, which, I know, is how Marcus will feel about Manchester United.

But I got to the point where I was being squeezed out so often, treated so unfairly, in my view, that, for the sake of my sanity as much as for my career, I felt I had to go.

He will be wondering the same now. He’s a bright lad, he understands how these things work. He knows, when he’s not getting regular game time, his form will dip and he knows, when he does come into a far from fluent team, it is not easy to find that form.

Does he need a fresh start? It’s hard to say and only he will know. But there is a World Cup finals this year and being dropped from the England squad is a stark message he will have to listen to.

There will be plenty of clubs interested. But I suspect he may well wait until he knows who the next Manchester United boss will be, perhaps even wait to talk to him.

If he gets the right answers, then he can stay at Old Trafford and still have time to turn his form around for the World Cup.

It’s not an easy call to make. I was heartbroken when I had to leave Liverpool and never really came to terms with it.