Marcus Rashford is feeling the heat after 'bullying' from ex-Manchester United stars and pundits, according to the player's camp.
Rashford has struggled to hit the heights of his career-best 30-goal season from 2022/23. The forward has netted just seven times in his past 36 Premier League outings and his slump in form saw him lose his spot in the England team.
He has come in for plenty of criticism over his recent forn - with the likes of Roy Keane and Gary Neville - among those to call out his performances.
But Rashford's camp have now hit back at the criticism aimed at the forward.
"When someone else misplaces a pass it does not get mentioned, but when it is Marcus it's different," a source from Rashford's camp told the i. "Very different. The criticism coming his way is an onslaught. It is bullying. Supporters believe what senior ex-players say, which only makes worse.
"The club have spent £100milion on central strikers and Marcus is back out wide, as a facilitator. And he is doing his job in that regard. It isn't his fault the chances aren't being put away."
Manchester United are gearing up for a crucial encounter with low-flying Southampton this Saturday, as they aim to bounce back from successive defeats at the hands of Brighton and Liverpool before the international break.
Goals have been scarce for the Red Devils and Rashford hasn't been able to chip in yet. United's two goals so far have come from Joshua Zirkzee and Amad Diallo.
Amid his struggles, Rashford has worked closely with a private coach to help him regain his best form. He is eager to put his woes behind him and work his way back into the England set-up.
After the 2-1 loss to Brighton, United's attacking force came under fire from Alan Shearer - who was heavily critical of Rashford. It led Erik ten Hag to label the criticism as "stupid".
Ten Hag defended his squad saying: "Everyone gets criticism from you guys, it doesn't matter what we are doing, if we are winning, if we are losing. If I take a player off, the conclusion is I was not happy with him. I was very happy with Rashy in pre-season, against Fulham and also against Brighton.
"It is not why I took him off because his performances or level were not right - no, we had to rotate and we have good players on the bench as well, you bring new energy. There will be rotation and if then there is the conclusion the player is not performing. Can be sometimes, definitely it wasn't in this case, stupid analysis in this case from the pundit."
