Amorim's vision obscured by his non-playing players

Marcus Rashford has been of interest to AC Milan and Juventus, Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund.

- RICHARD JOLLY

Yet as the transfer window enters its final furlong, he is still a Manchester United player. Not in terms of actually playing – he has not appeared in their last 10 matches, and has only even been on the bench for one of them – but in the simple fact that he has not signed for another club. Some of Rashford’s options are closing off. When Kyle Walker completes his move to Milan, they will not have a slot in the squad for another English player. Barcelona are forever cashstrapped. Dortmund, having just sacked Nuri Sahin, are in limbo. So, in a different way, is Rashford. His long relationship with United could continue, whether or not either party really wants it to.

United’s transfer window has been busy and yet uneventful, with a host of players who could leave but haven’t, with difficulties signing unless they bring in some money. Ruben Amorim’s February now could come with added complications. His tasks may include reintegrating Rashford, a player exiled by a combination of the head coach and the player’s own choices.

Amorim scarcely sounded enthusiastic about the task, even if he was non-committal. “I don’t know,” he said. “I really don’t know. Guys, it’s eight days. We will see in the end of the window what happened.”