Ruben Amorim questions advice given to Marcus Rashford after shock admission that he is ready to leave Man United – as he claims it was not the forward’s ‘idea’ to give bombshell interview

Ruben Amorim has questioned the influence that Marcus Rashford’s camp have over him after the unsettled Manchester United star said he is ready for a new challenge.

Rashford made the bombshell claim in an interview last week after he was dropped for the Manchester derby, and has now been left out of the last three games by Amorim.

The United boss believes Rashford’s representatives may have been responsible for putting the idea to speak out in the 27-year-old’s head, but now wants to move on from the drama and focus on getting him back on the pitch.

‘It is a hard situation,’ said Amorim. ‘I understand that these players have a lot of people around them, and they sometimes make choices that are not the first idea from the player. I understand, I can separate things.

‘I am always here to help Marcus, as any other player. They have to do what they have to do. They chose to do the interview because it’s not just Marcus. I understand that.’

Speaking to Sky Sports, Amorim added: ‘As a coach, I just focus on performance and the way he trains. The rest, it is better for me and the club to deal with that when the time comes.

Amorim believes it wasn’t Rashford’s decision to give the bombshell interview over his future

United fans showed their support for Rashford, who has been left out of the last three squads

‘At the moment I focus on improving Marcus. We need a talented guy like Marcus in this moment. I forget the interview now and see what I see on the pitch.’

Amorim axed Rashford from the squad because he was unhappy with the player’s attitude and performance levels in training.

It’s understood that United won’t put their head coach under pressure to pick Rashford, even though continuing to leave him out could impact his value if he is sold in the January transfer window.

He was valued at £100million after scoring 30 goals in Erik ten Hag’s first season at Old Trafford, but that figure is already believed to have halved.

It makes little sense to have a player who earns £315,000-a-week sat on the sidelines but the United hierarchy are refusing to get involved in the situation, with co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, director Sir Dave Brailsford, chief executive Omar Berrada and technical director Jason Wilcox leaving Amorim to make the decision on team selection.

While Alejandro Garnacho was dropped for the derby for similar reasons, the Argentina winger has played off the bench in the last two games against Tottenham and Bournemouth while Rashford has remained isolated.

Amorim has left the door open for Rashford to return at Wolves on Boxing Day, but given no guarantees that he will be brought in from the cold.