Michael Carrick’s latest comments on Marcus Rashford leave little doubt about where the player stands as Manchester United move through pre-season. The United boss said Rashford has been “great” since returning, and that assessment suggests the forward is well placed to play an important part next season.

Rashford trained during the first half of the week before the friendly against Leeds United at Dublin’s Croke Park on Wednesday. After only two sessions, his fitness was not at the level required for selection, so Carrick left him out of the squad. Kobbie Mainoo and Lisandro Martínez were also omitted, with both having returned late because of their World Cup involvement.

The next opportunity for Rashford to feature should come against AC Milan in Poland on Saturday, when United have a somewhat awkward reunion with former manager Ruben Amorim. Carrick, though, made clear he sees value in having Rashford available again. Speaking to ITV after the 1-1 draw with Leeds, he said Rashford has “come back great.”

That stance matters because Rashford had previously been pushed out of contention by Amorim, with his work in training said to be the issue. Carrick offered a direct defence of the player’s attitude and presence in the group.

“He’s our player. He’s come back great, like any other player. I’ve known him a long time, he gives us something a bit different,” Carrick enthused.

“He’s been in great spirits since he’s been back. He’s been back [for] two or three days.”

The comments may also ease some of the scrutiny that returned after tabloid pictures showed Rashford drinking beer and champagne while on holiday before reporting back.

United have not truly replaced him. Last season, his usual left-wing role was shared by Matheus Cunha and Patrick Dorgu. Both offered alternatives, but neither is a more natural fit than Rashford. United had been linked with a left winger this summer, but only if he left again. If he stays, it strengthens the squad and may allow attention to shift elsewhere, especially central midfield, left back and striker.

Ruben Amorim has admitted that his spell at Manchester United came with “a lot of mistakes”, saying the experience taught him plenty before his move to AC Milan.

The Portuguese coach was dismissed in January after a breakdown in relations with the club’s hierarchy, including director of football Jason Wilcox, and the club then paid another £15.9 million ($21.2 million) to remove him and his staff. His exit brought down a turbulent 14-month stay that never found stable ground.

Amorim’s United side struggled to impose itself, with a back-three structure that often left the team short of control and vulnerable to the unpredictability of Premier League football. The numbers from his time at Old Trafford underline why the project unravelled. He leaves with the club’s worst Premier League win ratio at 32%, the worst goals conceded per game ratio at 1.53, and the lowest clean sheet ratio at 15% in their history.

Across 63 matches, United won 25, drew 15 and lost 23, with a win percentage of 39.7 and a +8 goal difference. The decline in results and the lack of a clear identity were central to the decision to move on.

Now at AC Milan after replacing Massimiliano Allegri, Amorim says the past is behind him. Speaking during a press conference on Milan’s preseason tour down under, he said: “The first thing is that it doesn’t matter anymore,” Amorim told reporters during a press conference on Milan’s preseason tour down under. “That is the feeling. There’s a history, then something happens, the context changes, and you focus on the next challenge.”

AC Milan are backing him to restore them to the top of Serie A after back-to-back finishes of eighth and fifth, having parted ways with Allegri in May. Amorim was appointed on June 15 and now begins a new chapter with a very different set of expectations.

Ruben Amorim used his first press conference as AC Milan coach to apologise to Manchester United supporters and concede that his time at Old Trafford contained a string of errors he did not have the space to explain in full. He said he had stayed silent for six months after his sacking and only spoke after joining Milan.

On the subject of his United tenure Amorim told assembled media: “It is hard to explain the mistakes,” and added: “It is hard to tell you about every mistake, but I learned a lot.

He continued: “I made some mistakes. I didn’t have the opportunity to say something to the Manchester United fans at that moment, and I am sorry for that. I am really proud to have been their coach for a year, but now it is a different history.

Amorim acknowledged there were many things he could have handled better during his 14 months in England. “There are a lot of things that I could have done better at the last experience. But sometimes it is like that. You have to learn to find the right spots to reach a different level.” He said the period of reflection followed a collapse of a campaign that ended only after he publicly lambasted his own bosses.

One recurrent criticism in England concerned his persistence with the 3-4-2-1 shape that had delivered success at Sporting CP but that he continued to employ at United. The coach admitted he delayed a change of system until a victory at Newcastle the day after last Christmas, and explained he had held out because he did not want players to feel he was yielding to outside pressure. “When you [journalists] talk about changing the system all the time, I cannot change because the players will understand that I am changing because of you,” he said.

The press conference also highlighted wider communication issues that dogged his spell at United. The man nicknamed “the Poet” by Cristiano Ronaldo was repeatedly drawn into controversy for public criticism of individuals and the squad, a style that the article says alienated certain players, most notably Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo. Amorim accepted his biggest misstep came before his first match when he left Sporting with an unbeaten start to 2024–25 after being presented with an immediate ultimatum to join United.