José Mourinho has welcomed Marcus Rashford being dropped from the England squad, with the Manchester United manager believing the teenager will benefit more from being part of the under-21 setup.
Rashford has won three England caps and was in the squad at Euro 2016 but after failing to feature in either of United’s matches this season, Sam Allardyce decided he could not select him and so allowed Gareth Southgate to include him in the under-21 squad.
“I prefer he is not selected for the national team, because to be on the bench after Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy and all the experienced players and play one minute is not the best,” Mourinho said. “I would prefer him to play for the under-21s and what Southgate decides – to play 90 or 80 minutes – and contribute to his development, so no problems. All good.
“Marcus will play a lot. I cannot choose competitions. I cannot say Zlatan Ibrahimovic doesn’t play one single match in the Europa League because that is not the case. I cannot say Marcus doesn’t start matches in the Premier League because that is not the case. He is a young and talented player. We didn’t buy more strikers. We bought one, not two or three or four. If you don’t trust him, or want him to play, we buy other strikers. Zlatan is playing and showing why and Marcus is striker No2 at the moment. For an 18-year-old boy, he is amazing.”
Asked if Ibrahimovic and Rashford might be selected as a combination for United, Mourinho said: “They played against Leicester as a two. Marcus came on for the last 30 minutes and played alongside Zlatan. We were 1-1 and I played them both. On the other two matches he was on the bench and the team was winning. I didn’t see a reason to break the structure of the team. It was the last 30 minutes and I did not want to go to penalties. In the two league games, I didn’t see a reason to break the system.”
Mourinho has also not started Henrikh Mkhitaryan despite him being the Bundesliga player of the year last season and costing United close to £30m. “It’s difficult but if Juan Mata is on the bench you tell me I want to kick him out,” Mourinho said when asked about Mkhitaryan’s lack of playing time. “If I don’t play Anthony Martial it’s because he is in crisis or Ashley Young, it’s because I don’t like Ashley Young. Or Memphis Depay is not playing because he is on his way out.”
Mourinho is clear why Mkhitaryan has been left out. “The others are playing really well,” he said. “When some managers buy players they play because they think about protecting themselves: I choose this player, I bought this player, I have to show the world I was right.
“No, the first thing I think about is my team. Miki is a super player and so I am sure he will succeed. I am not in a rush to play him to show the world how good he is. Maybe he will play at Hull. We have a very good squad and every weekend we are going to be here and you are going to ask about A, B or C because it’s a normal thing.”
Martial has started quietly following last season’s impressive form. Regarding whether the Frenchman is suffering from an inevitable dip, Mourinho said: “When a team is not playing especially well [as United were last season] and when in the middle of that average level somebody comes out of that, they go immediately to be the highlight.
“This now is a different picture. Last season, no Martial, no three points. This season, no Martial goals and three victories. The team is OK. Other players are scoring goals. He’s performing more than OK. I wouldn’t expect much more than that.
“He had no pre-season. He was the last to arrive [after Euro 2016]. Some guys take more time. I think he’s doing fine. I think he’s going to have a normal season. For a guy of his qualities, a normal season is a good season so I think he will have a good season.”
