Marcus Rashford return can be timely boost for Manchester United’s season

The marquee arrivals of players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho have meant Marcus Rashford’s absence from the Manchester United starting XI has almost gone unnoticed at times.

That being said, while his absence may have gone unnoticed, it would be wrong to say United haven’t missed him.

Rashford underwent an operation on his shoulder in the summer and has been sidelined ever since, but the good news is he’s now back in training and nearing a return.

While no player in the squad makes us fans prouder than the Manchester-born forward, a lot of the United fanbase are undecided on just how important he is to the team.

Does he have bundles of talent? Absolutely. Can he still improve? Absolutely, especially in his decision making.

Despite scoring 21 goals and providing 15 assists in all competitions last season, people still thought Rashford underperformed. After all, there were countless times where he found himself in threatening positions but failed to make the right decision.

Below is Rashford’s heat map from the 2020/21 campaign and you can clearly see the area of the field Rashford tended to find himself in. Although he hogged that left-hand channel, he would switch flanks and even did a lot of defensive work for the good of the team.

Rashford’s ability to dribble at speed is definitely one of his best attributes. He averaged 2.2 successful take-ons per game last season and was fouled an average of 1.1 times per game. He also completed an average of 1.2 key passes per match and boasted an impressive 82% passing accuracy.

If you look at United’s form with Rashford this season, they’ve struggled against teams they’ve expected to beat. Sound familiar? Of course it does, because that’s always been the case under Solskjaer.

A run of two wins from six matches in all competitions has piled the pressure on both Solskjaer and the team, but as we saw against Everton on Saturday, United struggle against sides who play a low block.

When a defence sits deep and allows you to have the ball, you need players who are going to break that defensive line and attract defenders out of their rigid system. United lacked this against the Toffees and only really looked threatening when Sancho was introduced.

With the return of Rashford on the horizon, United should find it much easier to break the deadlock against teams who play a low block. The England international is arguably the best in the squad at drawing defenders close to him and opening up space for others.

This image is a perfect example of Rashford’s ability to draw players in. As the defender is so tight to him, it offers the choice of either playing down the channel or cutting back inside and creating space in the middle of the park.

This is key for Luke Shaw because it means he can attack the channel and make an overlap, creating even more options for Rashford. He can either pass to Shaw, cut inside or pass back to Bruno Fernandes who can switch the play.

Solskjaer has been missing players who are direct and attract defenders to the ball: players like Rashford.

The United man’s return could be key to unlocking United’s true potential, with players like Shaw, Ronaldo, Sancho and Fernandes all set to benefit from his ability to stretch the game.

A fully fit Marcus Rashford can be unstoppable and he might just be the boost this United team needs.

Will Rashford’s return improve United? Follow our United On My Mind writer Omar Garrick on Twitter to get involved in the discussion and give us your thoughts on the matter in the comments section below.