Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has revealed that he “of course” wants Marcus Rashford to stay at Old Trafford.

The mercurial forward has endured a mixed run of form lately. Despite scoring three goals in six appearances since Amorim’s mid-season arrival, Rashford was surprisingly dropped for United’s derby victory over Manchester City on Sunday afternoon.

The Portuguese coach explained that the absence of Rashford – alongside fellow forward Alejandro Garnacho – was not a disciplinary measure, but stressed the importance of “the way you dress, the way you eat, the way you engage with teammates and push teammates”.

Rashford had been supportive of his side on social media over the weekend but broke his silence in a shock interview released on Tuesday evening. The United academy graduate admitted that he is “ready for a new challenge” and spoke about “when I leave” rather than ‘if’.

In his pre-match press conference ahead of United’s Carabao Cup quarter-final against Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday, Rashford was the first, second and third topic of discussion.

Bluntly asked whether he wants the England international to stay, despite rumours of a potential January exit, Amorim revealed: “Of course because this kind of club needs big talents and he is a big talent. He just needs to perform at the highest level and that is my focus. I just want to help Marcus.”

The United boss added: “We are better with Marcus Rashford and it’s that simple. We will try different things to push Rashford to the best levels that he has shown me in the past.”

Rashford has trained with the team and Amorim admitted that he could be included in the midweek trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium: “He is our player and he is ready for the next game.”

On Rashford’s comments regarding a “new challenge”, Amorim fired back: “He is right. We have here a new challenge, the biggest in football, we are in a difficult situation. I hope all my players are ready.”

Amorim simply summed up his stance on the hot topic: “What I want is to take the best of Marcus Rashford. I don’t talk about the future, I just talk about the present.”

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