Michael Owen questions Man Utd's 'weak link' after Fulham draw

Michael Owen says one Man Utd star looks like he has ‘the weight of the world is on his shoulders’ (Photo: Premier League Productions)

Michael Owen has questioned Marcus Rashford’s mentality, claiming the England forward has become a ‘weak link’ in Manchester United’s team.

After 18 months in exile, Rashford made a surprise return to Old Trafford over the summer, with Michael Carrick willing to give the 28-year-old another chance.

But aside from some flashes of quality, it has not been a pleasant homecoming, with the forward failing to score or assist in 435 minutes of football so far, including Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Fulham .

United as a whole are struggling, winning just one of their opening five games – their joint-worst start to a Premier League season – and getting knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Brighton.

While Owen is ‘not concerned’ by the form of Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo , he is worried about Rashford, telling Premier League Productions: ‘On the left, Marcus Rashford has been probably the quietest of those attackers.

‘He was quiet again today in his body language, just the glum face. He just doesn’t seem to be loving his football which has been a permanent frustration with Marcus.

‘It does look like the weight of the world is on his shoulders and you just think how? Why? He’s living everybody’s dream. Surely there’s something behind the scenes that is making him look as if he’s not enjoying his football at the moment.

Marcus Rashford has no goals or assists this season (Photo: Getty)

‘Last chance saloon was Barcelona [where Rashford spent last season on loan]. I couldn’t believe his luck in getting a team like Barcelona.

‘He does reasonably well out there, but not well enough for them to keep him and then they end up spending fortunes to replace him by buying Anthony Gordon . So, it wasn’t all perfect. It wasn’t all rosy despite any spin that people put on it.

‘And then he comes back to Manchester United . He’s done okay, but only okay. And he needs to probably do a little bit better in that front three because his is the position in the attack that would be vulnerable.

Rashford looked much happier on loan at Barcelona last season (Photo: Getty)

‘There’s a bit of a demand for Benjamin Sesko to come back in and start, injury permitting of course. But if that happens, Cunha is going to go on the left and Rashford would be the weak link in that attack as things stand.’

Thanks to the international break, there are three weeks for Carrick to decide whether to drop Rashford, who may yet pull out of the England squad through injury .

In spite of his struggles, Owen still has faith that the forward can become the elite player so many tipped him to become when he made his debut over a decade ago.

Will Michael Carrick drop Rashford? (Photo: Getty)

‘There is nothing that that lad hasn’t got,’ the former United striker added. ‘He is so tall, such a great athlete. His touch and his skill levels are unbelievable. He’s quick.

‘He’s got everything that you would want in a player, and it just shows you if you haven’t got that [mentality], that is the most important thing in football. Not even a question. If you’re mentally strong then you can go far in the game and he has got absolutely everything.

‘When he’s confident when he’s happy and everything then he can be a world beater. But it’s not often he’s got that between his ears ticking. It’s not often that he’s in the right frame of mind.

‘He’s 28 now, he should be in his prime. He should be absolutely tearing defences apart, scoring loads of goals. We’re talking about what records he can break. He has got that ability to do it, and he’s shown it in patches, but just not seeing it on a consistent basis.’