Marcus Rashford wants to leave Manchester United, but he also wants the next right club, so what role can he play for his interested suitors?
Rashford fell as shame with Ruben Amorim in Man Utd, who now seeks to send him to another place, even if he is alone in a position, for the rest of the season.
Throughout his career, Rashford has usually played as either a left-winger or a centre-forward. He prefers the left-wing role, but has had positive spells in either position.
Also, he can play on the right wing or even as an attacking midfielder, those roles are a little less unusual for him.
Recently, he has attracted interest from AC Milan, Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund and Juventus. But which positions would likely be the maximum maximum for those clubs, and who would the existing places compete for?
Below, TeamTalk further examines how Rashford can integrate into the tactical systems of those 4 contenders.
One of Rashford’s top insistent suitors, with interest boosted through former teammate Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Milan are still in a state of flux after replacing head coach Paulo Fonseca with Sergio Concicao.
Conceicao has so far used a 4-3-3 formation, compared to the 4-2-3-1 used by Fonseca.
On paper, the most powerful front of Milan has Rafael Leao in the left wing, Álvaro Morata in the center of the center and Christian Pulisic on the right wing.
Although he has encountered certain upheavals with Fonseca, Leao is by far one of Milan’s most productive players, so if he is in clever form and shooting, he can have the left place on the left, forcing Rashford to take Morata’s position as an attacker instead.
Rashford and Morata are different types of striker, of course, with the former being a more mobile option and the latter better with his back to goal, so it could depend on what kind of game plan Conceicao wants to deploy against a particular opponent.
Alternatively, Rashford can fulfill his desire to play on the left wing, but it would be difficult to believe that he and Leo can appear in the same team at that time.
In a broader role, he would most likely be tasked with getting closer to Morata and gaining advantage from the other’s Spaniard’s play.
There may still be a way for Morata, Leao and Rashford to look all together, either by taking the Pulisic position in the right wing through Rashford, or through the way of converting through Milan. Concicao used a 4-4-2 when he directed Porto, so he was looking to reproduce this in his new work, Leao can play left and Pulisic on the right, with Rashford supporting Morata in front.
Again, this would allow him to play Morata, but through the drift between the two roles he can play, Rashford could be in scoring situations.
A dream destination for Rashford, which may be true, would be Barcelona.
If he has to leave the Premier League, moving to LaLiga could be the next best thing – and Barcelona would be an illustrious destination.
But again, they have a very effective left end on their existing team. Raphinha gets almost an average purpose consistent with the game when he plays left this season; It marked a double from this position in the last of the Espana Supplier Cup on January 12.
That said, unlike Leao in Milan, Raphinha is not so linked to a single position. The foreigner of Brazil has played in the right wing or in the center of the field on other occasions this season, while his assistant on the left, Ansu Fati, is dying. Talent. So there can be events when Rashford resorted to his favorite. Position as another rotation option.
However, Raphinha betting on the right to accommodate Rashford would mean that Lamine Yamal or Ferran Torres would likely have to withdraw, and Barcelona have insisted on blocking the progression of that particular teenager.
If he needs to play as an attacker, this time around, Robert Lewandowski is the guy Rashford deserves to move. And, unsurprisingly, their target/match ratio isn’t far off either, so it would be a huge impediment to starting opportunities.
At the age of 36, though, the Poland striker can’t necessarily play 90 minutes every week (though he pretty much did in November’s LaLiga schedule, for example). It’s likely Barcelona will be considering their options for Lewandowski’s long-term successor, but would they give that opportunity to a potential loanee like Rashford?
This time last year, Borussia Dortmund were taking Jadon Sancho back on loan from Man Utd. Now, they’re interested in offering a lifeline to Rashford.
Recently there has been room for many attackers in Nori Sahin; A 4-1-3-2 formation allowed the Liverpool midfielder to integrate two ends, a number 10 and two attackers.
If Dortmund persisted with this form, Rashford would have several tactics to be compatible. Perhaps he can thrive as one of the two strikers, along with Serhou Guirassy or Maximilian Beier, especially since they are both out and out of the teamarray advance
It would also be possible to play on the left wing, but his English colleague, Jamie Gittens, has been there this season and deserves to stay in his place.
Therefore, the opposite flank might be easier for Rashford to claim his place on – especially since Donyell Malen is on the verge of joining Aston Villa from Dortmund.
Karim Adeyemi would remain a backup option for Dortmund, able to bet anywhere in the front row, so Rashford would not be limited to one role exclusively.
Thiago Motta has been trying to implement his vision to Juventus since leaving Bologna over the summer, but it has been a stop-start process so far.
Recently, Motta has been lining Juventus up in a 4-2-3-1 formation – and with this in mind, Rashford might have the best chance of playing where he wants to.
If I signed at Rashford today in Juventus, it would be necessary as a center forward, since Dusan Vlahovic and Arkadiusz Milik are lately injured. But none of those setbacks is serious.
Therefore, Rashford would have a solid chance of competing for a place on the left wing. As things stand, Motta can mainly call upon Kenan Yildiz and Samuel Mbangula there.
But Yildiz is a versatile attacking midfielder who can play on the right wing or number 10 position instead, while Mbangula is only in his early twenties.
In theory, Juventus could start with Vlahovic up front, Rashford on the left, Teun Koopmeiners in the attacking midfield role and Yildiz on the right, with Mbangula, Timothy Weah, Nico González and Francisco Conceicao, son of Milan boss Sergio – as rotation options. With the assistant striker Milik.
But Vlahovic hasn’t fully convinced the Juventus faithful that he will become the world-class striker he has the potential to be, while Koopmeiners hasn’t hit the ground running, so it’s not too much of a stretch to imagine Rashford featuring more centrally either.
Overall, Rashford has a lot to say and will want to be sure of his suitors’ plans for him before making a primary decision about his future.
But the 27-year-old seems to still have a chance of fitting in at a top-level club as he aims to prove his doubters wrong away from Man Utd.