Owen Questions Rashford's Mentality After Goalless Start to Man United Return

Marcus Rashford is facing serious scrutiny over his form and body language after Manchester United's frustrating 1-1 draw with Fulham on Sunday, with former striker Michael Owen among those raising concerns about the forward's mindset.

Since returning to Old Trafford following loan spells at Aston Villa and Barcelona, Rashford has started four of United's five Premier League matches but is yet to register a single goal or assist in over 400 minutes on the pitch. Speaking on Premier League Productions, Owen made clear he wasn't impressed by what he saw against Fulham.

"On the left, Marcus Rashford has been probably the quietest of those attackers," Owen said. "He was quiet again today in his body language, just the glum face. He just doesn't seem to be loving his football which has been a permanent frustration with Marcus."

Owen went further, questioning what might be behind Rashford's demeanour given the talent he clearly has.

"It does look like the weight of the world is on his shoulders and you just think how? Why? He's living everybody's dream. Surely there's something behind the scenes that is making him look as if he's not enjoying his football at the moment," he said.

He also looked back at Rashford's time in Spain, suggesting the Barcelona spell wasn't quite the success it was sometimes made out to be.

"Last chance saloon was Barcelona. I couldn't believe his luck in getting a team like Barcelona. He does reasonably well out there, but not well enough for them to keep him and then they end up spending fortunes to replace him by buying Anthony Gordon. So, it wasn't all perfect. It wasn't all rosy despite any spin that people put on it."

With competition for places heating up in United's attack, Owen believes Rashford could now be the most exposed player in the front three.

"And then he comes back to Manchester United. He's done okay, but only okay. And he needs to probably do a little bit better in that front three because his is the position in the attack that would be vulnerable. There's a bit of a demand for Benjamin Sesko to come back in and start, injury permitting of course. But if that happens, Cunha is going to go on the left and Rashford would be the weak link in that attack as things stand."

Rashford's immediate focus, though, will be on getting fit again. He was forced off in the second half at Craven Cottage with a hip issue, an injury that will rule him out of England's upcoming Nations League fixtures against Spain, Czechia and Croatia over the next three weeks. United will now be hoping he can rediscover his best form once he's back to full fitness.