Forward penned four-year deal on Monday
Tuesday 2 July 2019 11:29, UK
Marcus Rashford signed a new £200k-per-week contract at Manchester United on Monday, but is the striker worth such a bumper deal?
After Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took charge at Old Trafford in December, Rashford featured regularly in the former United frontman's starting lineups and was named as the Premier League player of the month for January 2019.
Rashford, who made his debut for United in a Europa League game in February 2016, has contributed 50 goals and 26 assists in 184 appearances in all competitions for his hometown club.
The England international made his first Premier League start against Arsenal that same season, scoring twice in a 3-2 win at Old Trafford.
The academy product, who is now an England regular with 32 caps, has played for his boyhood team since the age of seven.
However, having found the net on just 10 occasions as United finished in an unfamiliar sixth place in the Premier League last season, Anton Toloui questioned whether the player was worth a new four-year on Sky Sports' new transfer show 'Good Morning Transfers'.
"I would say he was underwhelming last season - 10 goals in the Premier League, which is joint 25th in the league last season," said the Sky Sports News reporter.
"He has pace, dynamism, athleticism, so you expect him to take on defenders and yet he is only 41st in the number of dribbles per game last season. That is not good enough,
"Twenty third in the fouls created - he is not creating enough problems for defenders. Yes, United struggled, yes he is young, yes he is English and we should all be excited.
"But I do not think it is wrong to ask for more from Marcus Rashford.
"He finished joint-25th in the Premier League in scorers last season, but he was ninth in the number of shots. So he is having the chances, and the only statistic which he comes out near the top of is the number of big chances missed, where he is fifth in the Premier League.
"Rashford needs to up his game if he is going to be this number one striker that Man Utd are paying this money for.
"If you are paying that much money - and United have made this mistake before, they have thrown money at other players and they have not had the reward from it.
"And if Ole is at the wheel, Rashford could stall the car and eventually break it down, because if United do not score, they do not move up the table and Ole loses his job."
Jaydee Dyer, however, thinks Rashford's new deal sends out all the right messages to United's current crop of exciting young players.
"The culture of Marcus Rashford signing for Man Utd, what it does now on the first day of pre-season going back in is it ignites all of those youngsters who look up to him - Mason Greenwood, Angel Gomes, Ro-Shaun Williams will all come into pre-season saying: 'I want to prove a point,' said the Sky Sports news reporter.
"We have seen Ole Gunnar Solskjaer go into that club and turn round and say - I want to change the whole culture of this club, I want to make this club what it was like when I first came there.
"What was it about? Bringing youth through, being united, playing for the shirt. And you are going to get that out of the youngsters.
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