Marcus Rashford Returns to Manchester United Squad for AC Milan Clash
Manchester United’s final pre-season outing in Wroclaw has suddenly grown a sharper edge. It is not just AC Milan on the other side this afternoon. It is Ruben Amorim. And, crucially, Marcus Rashford.
The United winger has been named in Michael Carrick’s travelling squad for the game in Poland, a fixture loaded with subplots after Amorim’s arrival at San Siro earlier this summer.
From bomb squad to Milan reunion
Rashford’s relationship with Amorim imploded at Old Trafford. During the Portuguese coach’s underwhelming spell in charge, the pair clashed badly enough to push the 28-year-old towards the exit door.
The breaking point came around the Manchester derby in December 2024. Amorim dropped Rashford for the game, then banished him from training. It felt terminal.
By January, Rashford was gone, sent to Aston Villa on loan for the rest of the season. When he returned, the situation hardly improved. He was placed in a so-called “Bomb Squad” group and shipped out again, this time to Barcelona on a season-long loan.
Amorim did not last. He was sacked by United during Rashford’s stint in Spain, with Michael Carrick stepping in as his replacement.
Barcelona decision twists Rashford’s future
Rashford’s time at Camp Nou looked like a bridge to a permanent move. Barcelona had a £26m buy option and the expectation around the forward was that he would stay there for good.
That call never came. Barca walked away from the clause and moved for Anthony Gordon instead, leaving Rashford’s future back in United’s hands.
After the World Cup, the England international reported back to Carrick’s squad and spent this week in Dublin. He sat out the friendly against Leeds, but his inclusion in the travelling party for Milan signals a clear shift: Rashford is back in the picture.
Fans make their feelings clear
If there was any doubt about how supporters see it, the numbers cut through.
MEN Sport asked United fans: “Should Marcus Rashford play against AC Milan on Saturday?”
Out of 2,799 votes at the time of writing, a huge 84 per cent said “Yes”. Only 13 per cent felt he should not play, with three per cent unsure.
It is a resounding show of backing for a player whose United career looked shattered under Amorim. Now he could face his former manager in a different shade of red.
Mainoo returns, JJ Gabriel gets another chance
Rashford will not be the only familiar face to Amorim in Carrick’s squad. Kobbie Mainoo, who also endured a difficult period under the Portuguese coach, has travelled as well.
Teenage forward JJ Gabriel, a standout in pre-season so far, has been handed another opportunity with the first team and continues to push his way into Carrick’s thinking.
United’s meeting with Milan was supposed to be a final tune-up in Poland. With Rashford on the plane and Amorim in the opposite dugout, it now feels like something else entirely: the first real hint of what his Old Trafford story might look like under Michael Carrick.
