Manchester United defender Harry Maguire is confident Marcus Rashford will have a significant impact at the club this season.
The 28-year-old started his first Premier League game for United in 21 months in the 5-2 victory over Ipswich at Old Trafford, and was one of his side’s main attacking threats.
Having a future at United seemed unlikely when he fell out with former boss Ruben Amorim and was loaned out to Aston Villa and then Barcelona, where he would have stayed had the Catalans activated a £26m transfer fee.
With the transfer window closing on Tuesday night, it now looks certain Rashford will remain at his boyhood club.
“He’s a great talent,” said Maguire. “He’s always a threat.
“If Marcus wants to be here, wants to work, wants to improve and help the team, of course we’re willing to have him in the team.
“He could still do a lot more and I think he’ll say he can do more but if we keep him fit, we keep him happy, he keeps driven and hungry, he’s a great asset to have.”
There has been plenty of negativity around Rashford, even dating back to Erik ten Hag’s time at the club.
His work-rate and commitment have been questioned as well as the basic question of whether he actually enjoys the game any more.
Rashford did appear to benefit from working with Unai Emery and Hansi Flick during his time away from Old Trafford and the fact head coach Michael Carrick knows him well is felt to be an advantage.
“You’ve got to remember Marcus has had a wonderful career for this club,” said Maguire.
“But when you play at this club for numerous years, there’s going to be bad seasons, and when the bad seasons come everyone piles on you. That’s part and parcel of playing for this club.
“As a club, we haven’t been perfect from top to bottom. We haven’t been challenging at the top end. So, Marcus has been part of a rough ride for Manchester United.
“When that happens, players get dug out. I’ve been through it,” added Maguire, who also looked to be leaving the club at one stage after losing both his place in the team and the captaincy under former boss Erik ten Hag.
“He’s come back in, really fit and sharp and we’re excited to have him.”
Carrick describes Rashford as being like a new signing and while the United boss rejuvenated midfielder Kobbie Mainoo after he was repeatedly overlooked by predecessor Amorim, he now has to lift his spirits again after England boss Thomas Tuchel did not play him at the World Cup.
Mainoo also started for the first time this season against Ipswich and grew into the game after United went behind.
“I thought he was brilliant,” said Maguire.
“To say he hasn’t had many minutes in pre-season, he was magnificent.
“His work without the ball has improved so much since Michael’s been in. He’s becoming a real monster in there, wins a lot of second balls and a lot of duels.
“The thing is he’s so young. If we want him to play for this club for another 10 years, there’s going to be times where he’s going to go through a patch like I spoke about with Rashy and myself.
“But that’s part and parcel. He’s really level-headed, really composed and has great belief in his ability.
“He’s going to be a magnificent player for this club for many years.”