The warning proved more urgent than Erik ten Hag would have wanted. Three days earlier, he had spoken of the need for someone to relieve the burden on Marcus Rashford. It felt like a target for the summer transfer market, until it became rather more pressing. The man Ten Hag has often termed “unstoppable” was stopped; by an injury that could have Manchester United fearing the worst. Even a two-week absence could cost United in three competitions, with an FA Cup semi-final following a Europa League double-header against Sevilla. Four days later comes the top-four shootout against Tottenham. The immediate worry is that Rashford may miss that, too.
In the meantime, United seem likely to go into their 50th game of the season with no available player who has more than 10 goals in all competitions and he, Bruno Fernandes, operated as the holding midfielder on Saturday. United have one of the Premier League’s top 34 scorers, only one player with more than five. It underlines the scale of their Rashford dependencia; he has 28 goals in all competitions, 13 of them winners, and 20 of United’s 55 since the World Cup. Take away his Premier League strikes and United have 14 fewer points. Remove those and they are 10th, below Brentford. And if it isn’t as simple as that, the Ten Hag revival has largely been powered by one player. The Dutchman is all too aware of that.
