Manchester United defender Harry Maguire has voiced his desire for Marcus Rashford to remain at Old Trafford, insisting the forward's presence would strengthen the squad ahead of the new Premier League campaign.
Rashford made his first appearance for United since December 2024 during Sunday's 4-2 pre-season defeat to AC Milan in Wroclaw, coming off the bench in the second half. Wearing the number nine shirt handed to him by interim boss Michael Carrick, Rashford showed a flash of quality near the corner flag and was inches away from scoring. The club has clarified that the number nine is not being assigned permanently, a detail made more relevant by the injury absence of Benjamin Sesko, who had been tipped to wear the shirt this season.
Rashford's long-term future at United remains unresolved just weeks before the September 1 transfer deadline closes. Carrick has previously admitted he cannot guarantee whether Rashford will stay, and Maguire echoed that uncertainty while making clear his personal preference.
"As players, we hope he stays because if he does, he is a big asset to have. He can improve us for sure," Maguire said. "You saw when he came on, he threatened the backline really well. He could have scored. He's a huge threat. I've played with Marcus for numerous years and I know that playing against him and playing with him in training is going to help us."
Despite the individual promise shown by Rashford, the overall team performance left much to be desired. Maguire described it as United's weakest showing of the pre-season, coming just a week before their opening Premier League fixture against Hull City. Captain Bruno Fernandes missed a penalty for the second consecutive match, a miss that would have leveled the score at 2-1 before halftime. There were, however, some positive signs in the partnership between Fernandes and Youri Tielemans, with both players completing the full 90 minutes together for the first time.
"We're wanting to play much further up the pitch, be more aggressive and more on the front foot," Maguire explained. "This was the only game where I didn't feel we did ourselves justice in that aspect. We had a lot of high regains and created a lot of chances from that, but we didn't sustain our pressure anywhere close to enough."
Maguire has taken on captaincy duties during matches when Fernandes was unavailable earlier in pre-season, fueling speculation that he could be named vice-captain for the upcoming campaign, though this has not been officially confirmed.
The match also brought an emotional reunion with former manager Ruben Amorim, who was in attendance representing his new club, Milan. Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo, both of whom had strained relationships with Amorim during his tenure, were seen greeting supporters on the opposite side of the pitch when the Portuguese coach crossed paths with several of his old players, sharing warm embraces with him and his coaching staff after the game.
Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport following the match, Amorim reflected fondly on his time in Manchester. "I'm proud to have been at Manchester United and I still love Manchester United," he said, later joking with familiar journalists about missing them and admitting press conferences "are more boring" without him.
Maguire had nothing but praise for his former manager. "It was great to see him and all his staff. I got on with Ruben really well and all his staff. I am happy he has another chance to impress and show everyone what a great manager he is. I'm sure he's going to be a success," Maguire said. "I have nothing bad to say about Ruben. It just didn't work out at Manchester United. But he's got a massive club now. I'll be following them and hope they have an amazing season."
Based on reporting from BBC Sport.