United have the ideal candidate for captaincy following long-term Rashford deal

Marcus Rashford has penned a new five-year deal with Manchester United, which will keep him at the club until 2028. 

The England forward’s contract was due to expire next year but the Red Devils can now sleep easily knowing that their star player will remain at Old Trafford for the foreseeable future. 

Having endured a torrid dip in form during the 2021-22 campaign, largely unhelped by consistent injury blows, there were rumours that Rashford’s future could lie away from the north-west and Paris Saint-Germain were strongly linked with a move for the Carrington academy graduate. 

However, a resurgence in form under manager Erik ten Hag has seen Rashford’s stock rise higher than ever and last season the 25-year-old scored 30 goals in 56 games for United, with his post-World Cup form lighting up the Premier League and helping his boyhood club secure the Carabao Cup and a place in the top-four. 

Since making his debut as a wide-eyed teen in 2016 – when he was thrust into the starting lineup in a Europa League tie against Midtjylland due to an eleventh-hour injury to Anthony Martial – Rashford has netted a total of 123 goals in 359 games for United, becoming a fan favourite during a turbulent few years at Old Trafford. 

After signing his new deal, he said: 

“I joined Manchester United as a seven-year-old boy with a dream. That same passion, pride, and determination to succeed still drives me every time I have the honour of wearing the shirt.

“I’ve already had some amazing experiences at this incredible club, but there is still a lot more to achieve and I remain relentlessly determined to win more trophies in the years ahead.”

News of Rashford signing a new contract comes in the same week as Erik ten Hag revealed Harry Maguire will no longer be the Manchester United captain – somewhat unsurprisingly given his lack of gametime under the Dutchman. The club now need someone else to take the armband ahead of the new campaign, which begins on August 11. 

Last season Bruno Fernandes stepped up into the position when Maguire was watching on from the sidelines and there is no doubt that from an ability perspective he is certainly a player admired by his peers; one who leads by example with his talent. 

However, it is no secret that Fernandes’ petulance can get the better of him and too often his temper has flared higher than a calm-headed captain’s should. Ten Hag will be all too aware of this and, given his astuteness, it therefore seems unlikely that he will hand the 28-year-old the armband on a permanent basis. 

The perfect answer could indeed be right under his nose in the shape of Rashford. A player who knows the club better than any, having joined as a seven-year-old and endured a meteoric rise through the ranks to the first-team in the previous 18 years. 

When he is fit and playing well there is nobody better in this Manchester United team and he has proven his characteristics as a leader with his inspiring charity work off the field, helping to abolish hunger in underprivileged communities by providing millions of free meals to children across the whole of the UK. 

He is also a massive confidence player. After notching three goals for England at the World Cup as the Three Lions made it to the quarter-finals in Qatar, the Wythenshawe native scored 10 goals in 10 games for United upon returning to club football and ended the campaign with 17 top-flight goals to his name. 

It seems as though Rashford has finally found his feet again with ten Hag at the helm and next season there is nothing to suggest that he can’t improve on last season’s tally – especially if he begins the campaign in a much quicker manner. 

Inheriting the captain’s armband at arguably the world’s biggest club brings with it a huge amount of pressure and responsibility. As we have seen in the recent past, not everyone can deal with that. It seems hard, though, to imagine that Rashford would.