Football pundit Jamie Redknapp took a cheeky dig at Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag after the Red Devils' recent 1-1 Europa League draw with FC Twente. The former Liverpool midfielder jokingly claimed the Dutchman would be happy to draw Leicester City in the next round of the Carabao Cup.
Conducting the draw, Redknapp made a tongue-in-cheek remark after United were drawn at home against Leicester in the Round of 16. Notably, the Foxes are yet to win a league match this season. He said on Sky Sports (via Mirror):
"Erik will be happy"
The pundit had previously slammed the manager for dropping an in-form Marcus Rashford for the Red Devils' league clash with Crystal Palace. He speculated something could be going on behind the scenes between the manager and the player. As per Mirror, he had said:
"It feels like something has gone untoward. I don't know the details. But you don't drop a player that has scored two in midweek and against Southampton. I'd be nervous to say he is back but he is showing signs of the Rashford from two years ago.
"It feels like something's happened maybe this week, I don't know the manager's frustration. It is unusual for a manager to out players for their lifestyle. Sir Alex Ferguson would have never done it, whereas Ten Hag has done it on a few occasions. It is not always beneficial to the players."
Ten Hag had shot down Redknapp's suggestions in a press conference, saying (via Mirror):
“That's crazy. I would almost say as a person you are not OK when you bring such speculation if you don't know what's up. This is just rotation.”
What else did Jamie Redknapp say about Manchester United star Marcus Rashford?
Jamie Redknapp believed something was wrong with Marcus Rashford, talking about how Erik ten Hag might not be happy with the Englishman's lifestyle. He said on Sky Sports earlier this month :
"Something hasn't been right with Marcus. I don't know how he lives his lifestyle but the manager's obviously alluded to it not being in the right way. Now, this guy is a player, but you can't put diesel in a Ferrari engine. You can't. If you want to play right, you've got to be at it at all times, especially at a club when you're under the scrutiny like Manchester United."
"There's no doubt in his talent, but when the manager talks about you're not professional, you can't have that. That's not acceptable for a player these days. Not when you're dealing with some of the foreign players that come in and live their lives right every single day. So there's obviously something that's happened in Ten Hag's defence, but for Marcus Rashford to have that labelled against him it's not ideal for him either," he added.
Marcus Rashford has scored once for Manchester United this season in the Premier League. He also scored twice in their 7-0 over Barnsley in the Carabao Cup earlier this month.