"He's being made the scapegoat" - Pundit makes bold claim about Manchester United star Marcus Rashford 

Stephen Warnock has claimed that Manchester United's hierarchy are pushing Marcus Rashford out of the club. The pundit has theorized that those upstairs at Old Trafford are icing one of their biggest earners out in an attempt to cut down on costs.

Rashford's future at Manchester United seems extremely bleak after the winger admitted that he was 'ready for a new challenge', hinting at a potential exit. His comments came after being left out of the squad to face Manchester City in their derby on December 15. He was then dropped against Bournemouth yesterday (December 22) as well.

Speaking on Sky Sports, former Liverpool defender Warnock weighed in on Rashford's situation and gave his view on what's going on at Old Trafford. He said:

"He's come out and obviously made the statement. What we've seen behind the scenes is, there's a lot of cost-cutting. But what we also know is he's potentially their biggest earner.

"Now is that the ownership coming in and going - 'Absolutely not, we're going to set this wage structure, and we're gonna make sure we bring that down. He's the first one that's got to go.'?

"So how do you do that? You frustrate a player. You make life difficult for him. I've been in that situation where someone has come in and said 'You're not the player for me'.

"So what I'm going to do is I'm going to make life hell for you. I'm going to make it really embarrassing for you. I'm going to change the way we're doing everything. I'm going to leave you out of the squads. And I'm going to make you train all week but then you get no reward at the end of it and make things difficult for you.

"And I get the sense that he's being forced [out of the club] and he's being made the scapegoat."

Manchester United will next face Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League on Boxing Day (December 26).

"It feels like it's coming from the club" - Stephen Warnock further comments on Manchester United star Marcus Rashford's situation

Stephen Warnock believes the controversy surrounding Marcus Rashford at Manchester United stems from the club's hierarchy rather than the manager.

After his 30-goal campaign during the 2022-23 season, Rashford endured a major decline in form last term, scoring just eight goals for Manchester United. He began falling down the pecking order in Erik ten Hag's side.

While Rashford received a lot of criticism for his performances under Ten Hag, Warnock claims the club's hierarchy themselves want him out. He said:

"Work rate comes from feeling wanted and feeling important, feeling like you can contribute. This breakdown, we said it was with Ten Hag, but it feels like this is bigger. It almost feels like it is coming from the club. Because if I'm a manager, I'm thinking 'I want him in my team'."