Man Utd Q&A: Rashford’s future and optimism for Ineos

Our chief football news reporter Simon Stone is following United in the United States on their pre-season tour and he has been answering more of your questions.

Here is the final part:

Russ asked: I haven’t seen anything about Marcus Rashford. Either I’m not looking hard enough or there’s not much for the media to report. Do the club want him, does he want to stay and is there any transfer interest?

Simon answered: I get the strong sense Rashford is trying to keep his head down and work extra hard to rediscover the form that made him so lethal two seasons ago. There has tended to be a lot of noise around Rashford but that has gone quiet. This is not a bad thing.

The rights and wrongs of his Euros omission can be debated – so can his general fitness last season, when injuries were a factor in his performance. But the reality is his output simply was not good enough and he knows it. That has to change. Given his contract, I can’t see a move as a realistic way forward and he has always spoken of his love for Manchester United. He needs a reset in terms of his form.

Chris asked: I’m quietly impressed with Ineos’ transfer dealings so far this season and I’m optimistically looking forward to the next five years. Am I naive?

Simon answered: I wouldn’t say naive, Chris, I would say you are glass-half-full kind of guy. I would say Leny Yoro looks an extremely good signing and Joshua Zirkzee should be a positive addition in attacking ranks. The Mason Greenwood situation needed resolving and the outcome is the best one, even though some may argue otherwise. Donny van de Beek clearly had no future at the club and while Willy Kambwala did show promise last season, with PSR rules as they are, it makes sense to cash in.

My concern is that a number of players United could probably do without are on huge contracts and shifting them will not be easy. The secondary issue is I could offer a long list of signings in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era who promised lots and delivered little, either because they were over-hyped, didn’t fit into the system, didn’t fit into the club, got injured – or a combination of some or all of these. The transfers do look good. But I will reserve judgement until the meaningful games start.