Manchester United
Rashford’s Temporary No. 9 Shirt Says More About Preseason Than Plans
Rashford wore United’s No. 9 in preseason, but the club says the shirt number is not final.
Marcus Rashford was listed in Manchester United’s matchday squad for the first time since 2024 and was shown in the No. 9 shirt, but the number should not be read as a final decision. United made clear that the assignment was only temporary for preseason.
Michael Carrick selected his former teammate on the bench for the friendly in Poland, and BBC Sport’s Simon Stone reported that Rashford had been given No. 9 for the club’s final preseason fixture. Even so, the message from United was plain. As the club wrote on social media before kickoff: “Squad numbers worn in preseason are provisional and yet to be finalized,”
Rashford’s most familiar shirt at United was No. 10, which he wore for seven straight seasons before his last appearance for the club. For a player who grew up admiring Wayne Rooney, the club’s record scorer who wore No. 10 for most of his Old Trafford career, that number carried obvious significance.
The No. 9, though, is hardly unfamiliar to him. The first England shirt Rashford ever received as a child, given by his uncle, was a red Rooney No. 9 top. He also wore a red No. 9 when he scored his first international goal for the Three Lions, with his own name on the back. More recently, he was handed the number during his half-season loan at Aston Villa in the second half of the 2024-25 campaign.
The shirt has been available since Christian Eriksen left in 2025, the same year Rasmus Højlund gave up No. 9. Rashford had been expected to wear No. 14 this season after Matheus Cunha took his old number while he was still at the club last summer, but that did not happen after his move to Barcelona.
There is also the possibility that the No. 9 could still be taken by United’s first-choice centre forward Benjamin Šeško, who signed last summer and wore No. 30 only because his preferred digit was already occupied.
AC Milan
Rashford’s United Return Offers a Mixed Answer Under Amorim
Rashford’s United return was measured, with pressing effort visible but little influence in possession.
Marcus Rashford’s first Manchester United appearance in 611 days arrived in a pre-season setting that carried plenty of subtext, even without the stakes of competitive football. The forward, back in action after a long and complicated spell away, was given 30 minutes in Saturday’s friendly against an AC Milan side managed by Ruben Amorim, the coach who had previously lost faith in him.
It was a reunion shaped by history. Rashford had last turned out for United in December 2024, when he came off in the second half of a Europa League win over Viktoria Plzeň. What followed was a prolonged absence from the club, with Amorim said to have viewed him as a poor trainer and pushed him down the pecking order. Even after Amorim departed in January, Rashford’s future looked elsewhere as he excelled on loan in Barcelona, where he finished with 14 goals and as many assists while the club won a second straight league title.
A permanent move did not materialise, despite the player’s preference and the disappointment of Barcelona manager Hansi Flick. That brought the door back open at United, where Michael Carrick recalled his former teammate.
Against Milan, Rashford showed signs of application out of possession. Like United’s other attackers, he worked in the press and was involved in one notable moment when he sprinted in to dispossess Mario Gila. His influence in possession was far more limited. Bryan Mbeumo linked up with him a couple of times, but those combinations were untidy, and Rashford also produced a misplaced in-swinging cross that did not find a teammate.
The broader issue remains the same. Rashford still carries the label of a luxury player, and his defensive industry in matches has been questioned. Last season in La Liga, he ranked second bottom among qualifying attacking players for pressures per 90 minutes, with an average of 22.5 against a division average of 42.1. Only Kylian Mbappé registered less activity.
This outing did not erase that conversation, but it did show a player willing to work without the ball as he seeks to reset his standing at United.
Aston Villa
Tielemans Backs Rashford as Amorim Meeting Looms
Tielemans defended Rashford’s commitment as the winger prepared to meet Ruben Amorim once more.
Youri Tielemans has offered a pointed defence of Marcus Rashford, challenging the doubts that had followed the Manchester United forward before his meeting with Ruben Amorim.
Rashford had been criticised for what was portrayed as a lack of full commitment away from matches, with Amorim previously claiming: “The reason is the training,” Amorim explained, “the way I see what a footballer should do. In training, in life and it’s every day, every detail.”
But after Rashford joined Aston Villa on loan at the start of 2025 in search of more first-team football, Tielemans saw something very different up close. Speaking to Rio Ferdinand on his self-titled YouTube show, the Belgium international said the outside perception did not match the player he encountered in Birmingham.
“There was such a big thing made out of him that he wasn’t committed or wasn’t in it for the right reasons or whatever. And you see the player coming in and it’s completely opposite from what you hear,” Tielemans told Rio Ferdinand on his self-titled YouTube show.
“He was committed. He was doing the work. He was positive with everyone. You know, he was just a normal guy, you know.”
Tielemans also highlighted Rashford’s quality on the pitch, before stressing that support from the players around him would be crucial if he is to settle again at Manchester United.
“He’s got amazing qualities,” United’s marquee signing of the summer added. “And I mean, his touch, his acceleration, his finishing, you know, his qualities on the ball. But then I think what surprised me most with him was his commitment.”
“I think he needs us,” the former Villa midfielder admitted. “That’s it. I think he just needs support behind him. And he would always create something.
“So it’s something that, as a player, you want in your team. You want that type of player in your team that can create at any moment. He can dribble past one, two, three players and then lay off for someone that can score. So to have him fit and ready to go with us would be great.”
Michael Carrick, meanwhile, has taken a far more positive line than his predecessor. “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 gushed earlier this week .
Rashford, after his extended break following England’s run to third place at this summer’s World Cup, missed United’s friendly with Leeds in Dublin from the stands. He has since joined the travelling squad for Saturday’s match against Milan and, more importantly for the winger, Amorim.
Arsenal
Opta’s 2026/27 forecast gives Arsenal the edge in title race
Opta’s model backs Arsenal for the title, while Hull City, Ipswich Town and Coventry City face relegation fears.
A summer dominated by Spain’s World Cup success in North America is fading fast, and the Premier League returns with the familiar flood of predictions. This time, Opta has put its numbers behind the new season, using its Power Rankings and thousands of simulations to map out the title race, the fight for Europe and the battle to avoid the drop.
At the top of the model, Arsenal stand clear of the field. Opta gives the champions a 38% chance of retaining the crown, a figure that places them ahead of Manchester City on 20.5% and Liverpool on 9.2%. Manchester United follow on 6.2%, with Aston Villa, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur all given smaller title probabilities.
The forecast also suggests a comfortable route back into the Champions League for Arsenal. Under a system where a top-five finish would be enough for qualification, the Gunners are rated at 83% to end up in that bracket. Manchester City and Liverpool are also strongly backed, while Manchester United are given a 40% chance of securing a return to Europe’s top competition.
Villa remain in the mix for Champions League football, though the model does not see them pushing for the league title. Chelsea’s prospects are built more around a Champions League return than a serious domestic challenge, despite the talk surrounding Xabi Alonso’s side. Tottenham, meanwhile, are viewed as more likely to improve than to join the title conversation, with a push for Europe framed as a realistic target after successive 17th-place finishes.
At the bottom, Opta is unconvinced by the newly promoted clubs. Hull City are rated the most likely to go down, followed by Ipswich Town and Coventry City. The model points to difficult openings for Coventry and Hull, noting that promoted teams often need a strong start to survive. In Premier League history, none of the 16 promoted teams who collected at least eight points from their first five games have gone straight back down.
