Little sympathy for Rashford amid struggles this season – Rooney

Wayne Rooney said he believed Marcus Rashford was the only player at the club capable of overtaking him as Manchester United's all-time top scorer, but said he had limited sympathy midway through a season difficult for the attacker.

Rashford scored a career-high 30 goals in all competitions last season but has scored just seven times for United this campaign – his latest time coming in United's clash against Everton on Saturday.

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The 26-year-old striker was fined and left out of United's FA Cup fourth round win over Newport County last month after visiting a Belfast nightclub before telling the club he was too ill for training. Rashford later said he felt he was treated too harshly by the media.

When asked by TNT Sports before the Everton clash if he had any sympathy for Rashford, Rooney replied: “Not much to be honest. He's in a privileged position where he plays for Manchester United.

“I've said it before, he's the only player I really thought could get my goalscoring record, and I hope he does because he's a Manchester boy, but he must demonstrate a certain consistency.

“Of course he is not having the best of seasons, but he needs to get back into shape and consistency and become a leader of this team.”

Rooney scored 253 goals in 559 games during a 13-year United career, with Rashford just shy of half of that total.

“I don't think Marcus is that kind of player, I don't think he's a leader and sometimes his body language isn't the best from that point of view,” Rooney said.

“For me, I look at Casemiro, [Raphael] Varane, Bruno [Fernandes] as captain. These are players who should get the most out of Marcus because sometimes you need your teammates to get the best out of you as well. »