Marcus Rashford has been left out of the England squad for the Euro 2024 tournament in Germany following an underwhelming campaign at Manchester United.
The United forward has been a mainstay for England boss Gareth Southgate over many international campaigns, particularly in the most recent World Cup run. Many fans were clamouring for his introduction from the bench over the campaign in Qatar, as Rashford scored three goals in just 137 minutes of action across the whole tournament.
He scored just 49 seconds after coming on against Iran in England's opening game and grabbed a brace against Wales - including a stunning free-kick that had many begging for the star to be played from the start against France.
However, Rashford has hit a hard patch, with his future at boyhood club United up in the air and his international career stalling for the moment.
The 26-year-old struggled to hit good form for United this season, scoring eight and assisting five times across the 2023/24 campaign - an extreme downward spiral compared to his 30-goal tally the season before. Missing just six games across the season through injury, the Manchester-born striker has been left feeling uncertain about his future at the club.
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Surrounding all this uncertainty about his future, Rashford has seen his place in the England squad slip away as boss Southgate admitted it was "difficult" to leave the striker out. The emergence of Chelsea's Cole Palmer and the fine form of Newcastle's Anthony Gordon would've done the 26-year-old no favours either, while Southgate's tendency to use Phil Foden from the left meant he little choice but to leave him at home.
The England boss said: "These are, of course, difficult calls. You are talking about players that are very good players and who have been an important part of what we have done over a number of years.
Rashford has endured a tough season at Manchester United (Robin Jones/Getty Images)"With Marcus, I just feel that other players in that area have had better seasons. It is as simple as that."
He also added that Rashford handled his exclusion well and said: "I have to say all the boys, when I have spoken to them, Ben [Chilwell], Marcus, Jordan - who were the three that were with us last time - they were incredibly professional. Considering the disappointment, they dealt with it very well."
In response to this, Rashford took to social media to wish the rest of his England teammates good luck for the tournament. Writing on his Instagram story, the star said: "Wishing Gareth and the boys all the best for the up and coming tournament."
For England, Rashford has scored an impressive 17 goals in just 60 appearances - with a good majority of these being off the substitutes' bench.
The star striker has played just 11 full games for England according to TransferMarkt and this Euro 2024 snub may be the final straw that will drive Rashford to submit a transfer request away from the club he has been at all his playing life.
Former Liverpool defender Jose Enrique has urged Rashford to take the chance at leaving United in order to reignite his international career.
Speaking to DAZN, Enrique said: "In my opinion, he [Rashford] 100% has to leave Manchester United. There’s too much pressure on his shoulders now and people are criticising him too frequently. He’s never out of the spotlight.
"I just think that mentally for Rashford, Manchester United has really affected him, he became the club’s talisman at a young age and that is a lot of pressure - he needs to leave England."
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