28 January 2024 , 18:47
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Alan Shearer has torn into Marcus Rashford and accused the Manchester United striker of "wasting his talent".
The England forward, 26, missed the Red Devils FA Cup fourth round victory over Newport County on Sunday after missing training on Friday due to illness. Reports revealed that he had been in Belfast in mid-week to visit a nightclub shortly before the United squad travelled to south Wales.
Erik ten Hag did not dwell on Rashford's absence when he was quizzed about it ahead of the match, telling BBC Sport: "He reported ill. Lets say, it’s an internal matter, I’ll deal with it. It’s an internal matter.
And Shearer, who was covering the match for the BBC, believes there is more to Rashford's poor form this season than meets the eye and believes that a resolution needs to found to whatever it is that is affecting him.
Shearer said: "If it’s an internal matter, you’d think something is up. There’s a huge talent in there with Marcus Rashford. We’ve seen him be disciplined last season when he was late to a meeting before a game but something is clearly wrong - either at home or in his relationship with the football club.
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"He can’t keep doing this, he can’t keep wasting his talent because it’s not right. He needs strong management, someone to get hold of him and tell him there’ll be huge regrets come the end of his career if he continues doing this.
"You can’t keep doing it, it needs sorting now. Thirty goals last season, four this season. When I see him play, it looks like he’s got the world on his shoulders so it needs sorting now because he can’t really deal with it."
Join the debate! Do you agree with Shearer on Rashford? Let us know here.
Shearer believes there is more than meets the eye in regards to Rashford's poor form (Match of the Day)After plundering 30 goals in all competitions last year, Rashford put pen to paper on a new contract in the summer but has scored just four goals this term.
Speaking last month, Ten Hag insisted that he and the club would continue to do whatever they could to support Rashford in a bid to get the United academy graduate back to his best.
"I know this issue is coming up and Marcus is investing a lot, we support him and he will return to his form," the Dutchman said at the start of December. He works hard and he's investing a lot. He will get back, he will recover and he gets all our support."