Ruben Amorim happy to keep 'big talent' Marcus Rashford at Man Utd

But Rashford's form has dropped dramatically over the last 18 months and he, along with Alejandro Garnacho, was omitted from the squad for Sunday's 2-1 comeback win at rivals Manchester City.

Recently appointed Amorim's bold derby decision was followed by an eye-catching interview with journalist Henry Winter on X in which the forward revealed he was ready to end his 20-year association with United.

Rashford's striking comments were put to the head coach 14 hours later at a Wednesday morning press conference nominally previewing the Carabao Cup quarter-final at Tottenham.

"No (I've not spoken to him)," Amorim said. "Not yet. It was yesterday (when) I gave the day off to the lads, so he's our player and he's ready for the next game."

Asked if he would be happy to keep the forward as part of his plans, the United boss said: "Of course, because this kind of club needs big talents and he's a big talent.

"So, he just needs to perform at the highest level and that is my focus. I just want to help Marcus."

The PA news agency understands Tuesday's interview took United by surprise, with Rashford raising eyebrows in house and further afield by saying he was "ready for a new challenge and the next steps".

"I think he's right - we have here a new challenge," Amorim said, when those comments were put to him. "It's a tough one.

"For me, it's the biggest challenge in football because we are in a difficult situation and I already said that this is one of the biggest clubs in the world.

"So, this is a really new challenge and the biggest one. I hope all my players are ready for this new challenge."

The interview came amid widespread speculation about Rashford, who last year signed a new and improved contract at Old Trafford until 2028.

United, where football operations are now overseen by Ineos, are reportedly open to a sale, but quite who could afford the forward's lofty wages never mind a suitable transfer fee is another matter.

Quizzed on having a player around the dressing room that wants to leave, Amorim said: "This is in the future. My focus is to have all the players in the best that they can be to prepare for each game.

"So, we are talking about if, if, if. There is no if at this kind of club. It's just Tottenham and let's focus on this game."

But Rashford's remarks, and the timing of them, meant the key Carabao Cup clash was down the list of priorities at the pre-match press conference.

The England international and Garnacho are pushing to be involved at Tottenham after Amorim indicated on Sunday that he wanted to see more from them and denied their absence was due to disciplinary issues.

"We have one more training, but it's the same situation of all the other players," Amorim said.

"If they train well, then I have to make a choice. We will see at the end of training. I expect the best of each player every day so we will see after training."

Rashford admitted in the interview that it was "disheartening" and "disappointing" to be left out of the derby, but said he wanted to move on and "do my best the next time I'm available".

The forward trained on Sunday morning in front of Amorim but missed Monday's session through sickness and the team had a day off on Tuesday.

"I spoke with a lot of players individually and during training," Amorim added.

"What I want is to take the best stuff of Marcus Rashford as the other players, so I don't talk about the future. I just talk about the present.

"I want the best of each one of them and that is the key point for me. I just want to win and to help the team be better.

"We are better with Marcus Rashford. That's simple and we will try different things to push Marcus to the best levels that he's shown in the past and that's all."