Former Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney has urged Erik ten Hag to drop Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcus Rashford for Monday’s Premier League clash against Liverpool.
Both players featured in United’s opening two defeats to Brighton and Brentford with Ronaldo still seeking a move away from Old Trafford, while Rashford hasn’t scored a league goal since January.
– Everything you need to know about Casemiro
– Casemiro fee is second-biggest ever for a player over 30
– Notebook: Ten Hag’s concerns over De Gea
– Don’t have ESPN? Get instant access
United suffered 5-0 and 4-0 thrashings against Liverpool last season and Rooney wants Ten Hag to leave out the two forwards in order to match Jurgen Klopp side’s intensity levels.
“I wouldn’t play Cristiano Ronaldo, and I wouldn’t play Marcus Rashford [against Liverpool],” Rooney wrote in his Sunday Times column.
“If I was in Ten Hag’s position my main concern would be getting energy on the pitch, and United’s failure to recruit a No. 9 means they relied on Ronaldo against Brentford, even though he hadn’t trained a lot with the team. He looked like he needs time to get match fit.
“He has also let it be known that he wants to leave the club. I don’t know his reasons but, as I wrote in my last column, I’d let him — he’s a great player and will always score goals but the task for Ten Hag is to produce a team that can compete for the title in three or four years’ time. That means rebuilding with younger players.
