Man Utd transfers: Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo transfer exit stories show club have conflict about what they want to be

There was a time when Manchester United wanted Marcus Rashford to be the reference point and the poster boy of the club.

In bad times during the Covid pandemic, with the forward successfully campaigning the government to hand out free school meals, he was seen as this lighthouse, not just for United but for society in general.

Now it looks like a transfer away will almost certainly be done by the end of the January window.

Rashford's brother and agent, Duane, is travelling around Europe canvassing clubs and seeing what solution he can present.

So it seems very definite that if there is an opportunity that's plausible for the player and for Manchester United, it will be done before the end of the month.

It is quite a devastating dip from then to now - and it is not solely down to Rashford's drop in goals. Whether it is self-sabotage or not, the kind of things he has been doing off the pitch over the past 12 months has not set him up for a cycle of excellence that United are striving for.

There was the infamous late-night trip to Belfast earlier this year which saw him miss United training the following day due to illness.

This season, reports in The Athletic claimed Rashford went out 48 hours before United's 4-0 win over Everton last month, a game in which he scored twice, but a past-time that did not please new head coach Ruben Amorim.

People would not be complaining if he was going out to celebrate a massive win. Rashford has often felt that he's been painted unfairly by the media and by supporters. Those around him say he does the same thing that other footballers do. He goes out, he enjoys himself. But the timing rather than the actual act is the issue.

Fans also claim that Rashford is stuck in a repetitive cycle. How often are United going to cycle through this process, equipping the squad for the manager and then being left in a situation where they let the boss go and start again?

Coming out of the environment might benefit Rashford as it did Scott McTominay, who is now a cult hero at Napoli with five goals in his first 18 matches.

McTominay's case, however, saw there never be a question mark around his professionalism. The midfielder just didn't get the adulation or the appreciation, probably from the fan base. Erik ten Hag was very vocal in saying that he would have kept him because he set an example to the squad.

So the question is whether the change in environment can spark a change in Rashford mentally. Because even though he is not in form, he has not lost any capabilities as a footballer. It is the disillusionment, more the mental side of his game, that is the issue here.

As for United, is letting Rashford go part of actually curing the culture? Insiders have claimed United like the Arsenal model of: when things are not working to change the culture; where you have that jolt and shock, and you rip up contracts, you take the financial hit, and you do what's right, and you create that culture of excellence.

But then they also say they like the Chelsea model, which is: you sell your academy graduates for 'pure profit', and you go and buy the stars from Europe you hope are going to excel. Those two methods are completely contrasting.

If you go back to April, stories were coming out about United wanting an overhaul, and nearly everybody was for sale, but not Kobbie Mainoo, not Alejandro Garnacho, not Rasmus Hojlund.

But now stories are emerging that Garnacho and Mainoo's futures could be clouded in some doubt. The reason is despite Mainoo having two and a half years left on his contract, United have little wiggle room to buy players in the January transfer window because of profit and sustainability (PSR) regulations.

The club are looking at the situation they are in: they don't have a lot of money to spend, so they have to find clever solutions that will get them by.

It is a very clear scenario of sell to buy. What United need to do is choose the right pathway of selling which should be: the fringe players or those who shouldn't be part of the long-term planning - rather than a Mainoo, who is not untouchable any more.

United have actually been quite forthcoming in saying: we are preparing a new contract for Mainoo, we are having discussions, we want to keep him, we want to build the long-term project around him.

And in the summer, they signed Manuel Ugarte because they felt he was the perfect foil for Mainoo because their strengths and weaknesses mitigate for the others. So it's a bizarre jump to these transfer exit stories.

It looks like there is a conflict of what United are actually trying to be.

The January transfer window is OPEN!

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