Manchester United have scored 79 goals this season and Marcus Rashford is responsible for 27 of them. That equates to around 34 per cent of the team's goals and highlights the extent of his spectacular renaissance.
But what happens if Rashford stops scoring? Although last season, in which he scored just five goals, was the worst in the player's career and he'd insist it was merely a blip, his next challenge is to sustain those displays across the entirety of 2023.
The ability to consistently perform at the highest level separates the good players from the elite and that is the next step for Rashford, who has played the best football of his career throughout this campaign with Erik ten Hag in charge.
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Rashford, who has reverted to acting on instinct, a sign of confidence, has been unplayable at times. His goals have been instrumental in the team's success, but they have also drawn attention away from the output of those around him.
With the exception of Rashford, the club's attackers have actually let the squad down this season, as they have not scored frequently enough, which has left the academy graduate to almost single-handedly carry the burden of finding the net.
There are four senior attacking players, Antony, Wout Weghorst, Jadon Sancho and Anthony Martial, who have 20 goals between them and those individuals need to take more responsibility for the remainder of the season.
Rashford is responsible for 34 per cent of the side's goals and yet those four players are responsible for just 25 per cent, which suggests that if he'd sustained an injury, the final third would be an even bigger problem area for Ten Hag.
The Oxford dictionary defines the term over-reliance as 'excessive dependence on someone or something' and that perfectly describes the squad's current relationship with Rashford. The spread of goals is simply not varied enough.
There has also been data produced by Buzz Casino which highlights the extent of the problem, as United are the joint-most negatively impacted, alongside Tottenham, in the Premier League table if you removed each team's top goal scorers.
Without the goals of Rashford, United would move to seventh in the modified table, whereas, if you remove the top scorers from Arsenal and Manchester City, they would be affected, but they would still retain their positions.
The over-reliance on Rashford needs to be solved next season. The player is not guaranteed to continue in such a rich vein of form - there are bound to be natural peaks and troughs - and the other attacking players need to step up.
Antony was signed in a deal rising to €100million (£85.5m) from Ajax and he's contributed seven goals and a single assist, which is an average return, despite the obvious caveat of the Brazilian spending his first year in Manchester.
Martial has six goals and has spent more time on the injury table than the pitch. Although Sancho has also missed a large portion of the season, better will be expected from him in the near future, as he's only found the back of the net five times.
Weghorst is a striker who struggles to score and it will be a shock to see him remain beyond the expiration of his loan deal. The Dutchman has scored twice in 18 starts and he's clearly not the long-term solution to the lack of firepower.
Away from that group of underperforming senior attackers, Anthony Elanga, who celebrates his 21st birthday next month, has not scored since February 2022 against Atletico Madrid and a summer loan move away seems likely.
Elanga has regressed but when a door closes, another opens. The blossoming Alejandro Garncho has been excellent, despite being just 18 years old, and he's contributed four goals and five assists in just his first full season with the first team.
Garnacho is progressing nicely and he's got the potential to reach double digits with Rashford next season.
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