Will Rashford leave Man United for a new challenge in January? | What's next for Mudryk after provisional suspension for banned substance?
21:34 Share

Welcome to Bat Pages, bringing you everything you need to know about the biggest sports stories making the headlines in the morning's newspapers. I'm David Guido. Joining me are Miguel Delaney from The Independent and Martin Hardy from The Times. Welcome along to you both.

OK, well, let's start with a story that has developed this evening. Marcus Rashford saying he is ready for a new challenge, hinting heavily that his time at Manchester United is an impending end. He gave quotes in an interview with the sports journalist and broadcaster Henry Winter. Let's hear from Miguel and from Martin on this. To start off with the sun, I think he's got really the clearest depiction, the clearest headline ever.

The picture, of course, as well. And here it is. Rash, I'm ready for a new challenge at Man Utd Hero. Eyes exit after Derby axe. So, Miguel, listen, we know that there's been speculation around the future of Marcus Rashford, but this is perhaps the clearest step taken forward towards maybe a resolution of that question. What do you make of it?

I'm surprised, I have to say, and this is the biggest surprise in the story, that Rashford has been so open and strident about the situation. Maybe that points to what's going on at Manchester United. And I say I'm surprised, I mean, it's a great get from Henry. I say I'm surprised as well because it has felt like with this whole story, both parties have really almost been, there's been a dance around it for some time because of this awareness that Rashford's career over the last three, four years

hasn't gone as planned. There is a sadness to that, given I already have seen social media's filled with stuff about Marcus Rashford when he was 11 years old, only ever wanted to play for Manchester United. This was his dream. And for all sorts of reasons, this has now gone very sour. It's not all Manchester United. Some questions have to be levelled at Rashford himself. But it is just really a...

poignant story in that sense. And yeah, I mean, it's not a surprise to come to this. It is a surprise that Rashford has been as open as this, which I think says a lot about where the situation is. Martin, how much of a factor do you think an element of this was? The fact that he was not even in the matchday squad for the derby at the Etihad at the weekend?

Yeah, look, the story started to leak out, what, a week ago that Manchester United would accept offers for him. So perhaps there's been conversations or he's read the writing on the wall there. I share Miguel's feelings there that there is a bit of sadness here. When I look at Marcus Rashford, you see a player who scored 30 goals in 56 games two seasons ago and

On his day, he has been a phenomenal forward. Perhaps we would like to have seen him emerge as a genuine number nine and perhaps that would be better for his career options now because at £325,000 a week and in the new world of PSR where clubs are very limited in what they can do,

I'm very curious as to whether he has been tapped up by somebody or whether there is anybody waiting in the wings to make a move for him. You might have thought two or three years ago, posting your castle takeover, they may have been a club that would have been interested in a 27-year-old player

who's only just kind of left the England squad, they would find that very difficult to squeeze him in their financial constraints at the minute. You then look at, do Arsenal fancy him? Is he the goal scorer that can take them to the next level? Or is his kind of star faded too much over the past 12 months? But it's been a curious few days for Manchester United because it's

you know, let's not forget that was a pretty poor game between Manchester City and Manchester United. And the game is, at one point, it looks like Manchester City are going to win and that recent barren run. And then,

Diallo wins a penalty, there's a mistake by Mateo Nunes, drawn into a foul he doesn't need to make. We can then question Manchester City's recruitment for the last two years, where they're buying players like him who are not good enough. This opens the door for Man Utd to win. Amarillo's decisions get vindicated. Was there a picture of Marcus Rashford watching the game at home?

and maybe he's in that moment he's thought that this is my time to get out. But as Miguel said, the very strong words that come out so close to the game to say it's disheartening to be left out, it's disappointing, I don't want to make the situation worse. He must have been told now that his Manchester United days are over. It's just that there's a huge curiosity as to where does he go next?

Miguel, I just wondered, if we just talk about the football side of this primarily. I mean, we know that he's been inconsistent in the last few seasons, had that wonderful season two seasons ago, 30 goals, 17 of them in the Premier League, but hasn't hit those marks since then. But do you believe that he believes that the way that United are now going to set up under Ruben Amorim will not suit him or get the best out of him or that he will not fit into that system?

I think that's the only part of it. And to be honest, I'd be kind of surprised at that because I think Amram is clearly a flexible enough coach and we've already seen what he can do with other strikers that are maybe below their best form that he can revitalise them. I do think there's something bigger to this. I mean, again, actually, Martin rightly pointed out Rashford's incredible form two years ago. And I suppose this is an element of how these things can suddenly turn. Rashford was in a role on the right for Ten Hag where he scored so many goals and

Because of the injury to Luke Shaw, Ten Hag switched him over to the other side. And from what I understand, Rashford is always a little bit irritated about that switch in position, which he felt affected his form. That kind of has spiralled into this. And there is, I think this is unavoidable, there is another side to this where Manchester United want to undergo a huge overhaul of the squad. It is so far proven very difficult to sell players.

Rashford is one of those players on higher wages and at least feasibly, if you discount recent form, he's one of those who could also potentially command a huge fee. So he is basically a sellable asset. It's terrible to talk about a homegrown player who has such affinity for the club and such love for the club in that way. But this is the reality of how footballers are looked at now, especially in the PSO era.

He's also someone who has, in the past at least, been looked at by Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, some of the biggest clubs in Europe. So from that perspective, if United's new hierarchy are looking at ways to overhaul this squad, and I suppose taking into account some of Rashford's recent issues, then it's one of those that's almost dictated by logic, even though you would think this is one where a little bit more romance should come into it.

We'll come on to the sort of transfer implications of this in a moment. You've taken us through some of the detail there, Miguel. I'm just sort of looking at some notes I made a bit earlier and looking at the quotes specifically. Just on the comments that he's made, Martin, and the fact he's decided to make them now. He said, if I know that a situation is already bad, I'm not going to make it worse. I've seen how other players have left in the past and I don't want to be that person. When I leave, I'll make a statement and it will be from me.

So it really feels that, you know, Marcus, this is his club, right? You know, he's always been, you know, the red side of Manchester. You know, 20 years at this club. But it feels like he's wrestling internally because he wants to say his piece, but he wants to do it in the right way. But weirdly, making the statement, does that not make it worse? Because he's now basically trying to essentially force the hand. Like, you know, he's now saying, well, yeah, OK, then sell me. Sell me in January if you want.

Yeah, as you've said there, in his interview here, he says, I will make a statement when I'm going to leave. But within the interview is his statement saying I'm about to leave. It's like you've kind of done it already, Marcus. And, you know, this is somebody who's fairly savvy with his PR, so he will know the implications of what he's done. And look, he's been at Manchester United since he was, what, seven? He's been there for 20 years. Yeah.

The one thing players know better than anybody is they are commodities and at any time they can move on. It's probably quite an incredible feat these days for a player to stay at a club for 20 seasons, but he's a huge Manchester United fan, player since he was a boy, so that will make it more difficult to move, but

Within them quotes, he says, I'm halfway through my career. He's 27. And while sporting directors these days might not like to buy players beyond 25, in theory, Marcus Rashford should have, which is what he says in the interview, he should have his best days ahead of him. And don't forget, this has been the worst period of Manchester United have had in the Premier League. Whether it's the players' fault or whether it's the managers' fault or whether it's the management's fault, I suspect we look higher up for the blame

At times he's had to carry a very ordinary team. This Manchester United team, that would be Manchester City, arguably the worst team Manchester United have had in the Premier League. So there's been a different kind of responsibility on his shoulders. He's not playing alongside Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney. He's trying to make Manchester United the team that people still think they are when they're not at that level.

As I said before, you're talking about somebody who in 2022-23 was being linked with PSG and possibly the replacement for Kylian Mbappe. So, as Miguel says, it turns very, very fast. But he does have pedigree to interest top clubs. And we hear today through the story that PSG are now no longer interested in that category.

he doesn't want to go to Saudi Arabia yet where he could command a great deal of money so it is going to be genuinely interesting to see where he goes it feels like he knows that something's about to happen here and he's kind of premeditated in terms of what he said but as I said I come back to that I'm halfway through my career he's still 17 goals and 60 caps for England so there is still a player there and

Perhaps if he's coached, perhaps if he has a role, if it's a new club, it's a fresh start, then maybe we'll see that player of two years ago come back. Really, really briefly, Miguel, three-part question. Where is he going? Will it happen between before 11pm on February 3rd? And what nature of move? Loan or permanent?

It feels like his best option is abroad, although I think Martin raised one there. Arsenal could be an interesting one, given they want a forward, possibly can't get one in January and sit on loan. So maybe that presents an option that suits all parties. I think it will go just with the direction of travel and also because United want an overhaul.

And I think if he goes because of that, it's probably likely to be permanent. But please don't play this back on the 1st of February. Don't you worry, I did put you on the spot a little bit. OK, great. Fantastic. Really appreciate that on Marcus Rashford.

Also another big story, Chelsea winger Mikhalo Mudrik has been provisionally suspended by the Football Association after testing positive for the banned substance Maldonium. It's been outlawed by the World Anti-Doping Agency since 2016. As far as Mikhalo Mudrik is concerned, he said in a statement that the adverse finding is a complete shock. He denies any wrongdoing. And on Mudrik, I mean, he did pass a routine test in August anyway and...

He's provisionally suspended, so he has time to make a response, but he hasn't been charged yet. A sample positive, B sample we don't know. OK, Martin, let me come to you. What is your view on this story? I mean, ultimately, the player himself seems adamant, adamant. This is such a shock to him.

Well, it's a legal issue now. I think it's interesting that he's, as several papers have reported, he's hired the same law firm who represented Paul Pogba during his case and got a ban down from four years to 18 months. The difference here is you're talking 10 years further down the line with a World Cup winner's medal and a much more decorated career for Paul Pogba, whereas for Mudrick, what's he, 23?

He's had a difficult move to Chelsea. I think, contrary to what a lot of people thought, Chelsea could well be the dark horses to win the Premier League this season. So they have actually spent very well and they have two teams and they can cope with the modern demands of the game. But you forget that he cost £89 million and thus far has been, you would have to say, largely a flop.

He is adamant that he doesn't understand why this has happened, why Maldonian... It was in his A test, I think, and now we await the B test. But he is provisionally suspended from football, and this is going to be a damaging time as he missed five games already, and we'll wait to see what the next step is. But the mere fact that he's been suspended shows you the severity of this situation for him.

Miguel, I would love to get your take on this, but unfortunately we're really running short on time. But it's worth me saying at this point, just also quoting our chief reporter, Carvey Solicol, Chelsea launching their own investigation and also anti-doping breaches, strict liability offences as a player you're responsible for what's in your body. It doesn't matter how it got there, it is a strict liability offence, but clearly still some grounds to go on this story.

European Super League Mark III. Here we go. So, Miguel, I'm sure you remember the first time around, Florentino Perez on a late-night TV chat show in Spain. Incredibly well respected around the world. And then second time around, Bernd Reichardt tries to put a different face on it. Now we've got the Unify League. Talk to me about how this one has landed.

Well, first of all, the emotional response to this isn't exactly like April 2021, is it? In fact, a lot of leagues, clubs and other bodies have actually refused to publicly comment because they don't want to give it credence, which also I think actually reflects some of the attitudes to it and that they don't feel there's as much threat or anywhere close to as much threat. There

There's a possibility there's a complacency to that because this ultimately comes from last December's European Court of Justice ruling, which didn't quite back the Super League, but it did criticise UEFA and FIFA's monopoly on football. And also, I mean, it set a precedent for how, or legal precedent for how, for new rules on UEFA's

UEFA and FIFA pre-authorizing new competitions. So that's what this has essentially evolved into. Some people are surprised it took the Super League a year to come up with a new format, but now they've offered an idea and they say they will go to UEFA for recognition. It would then have to go through a number of tests, including issues like sporting merit, ethics as to whether it can pass,

But to a certain degree, all that is noise because really this is dependent on who's going to sign up to it. And at the moment, it's still just Barcelona and Real Madrid and a lot of tentative interest which the Super League can't name. So even when we're trying to write about it, you can't say other clubs have signed up. It's just an idea. And I suppose this is one of the issues with it where...

The clubs are dependent on how commercially successful the idea looks to be, but the commercial success of the idea depends on the clubs it has. So even if they get recognition from UEFA, and some people are even saying that Sheffield and UEFA could call their bluff because they think this is basically... The feeling in football is that this is almost a duller version of the Champions League. And it shows the issue when you can't have a closed shop and you have to comply to football's rules.

but they could authorise it and no one would sign up. That could be a bit of a game of chicken, but...

It's a development, but it still doesn't feel a particularly severe one. Yeah, just hearing from the... Burton Reinhart, CEO of A22, who's effectively the public sort of face of this competition, he said that this competition as it is now would help address challenges like rising subscription costs for fans, because there's a free streaming for fans on its own advertising platform, insufficient investment in women's football, dissatisfaction with the formats and governance of current pan-European competitions. Martin...

The tweaks they've made, are they enough to make this compelling for fans at all? One of his reasons is for the overloaded player calendar, which is actually a major issue in football. The players are playing too many times, as Pep Guardiola keeps saying.

I saw an interview recently, he was talking about the three-month break that they get in the NBA. So Bernd Reichardt talks, as you say, the chief executive of A22 starts talking about this, and his proposal is to bring in a 96-team four-division league, bigger than the entirety of English football now, with four different divisions, the Star, the Gold, the Blue and the Union.

And it's just more and more football. It's not what anybody needs, it's not what the players need. The players are starting to break down, you're seeing that in games. The other thing, to go back to Man City-Man United on Sunday, was it was a dreadful game for about an hour. One team looks tired, one team aren't that good. And the solution is, yet again, more football, driven by Real Madrid at the top of this.

What's interesting is there appears to be no backing at all from the English clubs this time. The English clubs, it's kind of forgotten that Man Utd, Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham were all in favour of the Super League to start with. They got their fingers burnt perhaps by the reaction of the fans that was so strong. Throughout football, in fairness, you might get away with being linked to the competition once, but if you hop on board the second time, that's not an accident. You will face...

Real, real anger from your supporters. It seems complete pie in the sky, as Michael says. People have been mocking this more than anything else. Even the name, the Unify League, you know, everybody dreams about playing the Unify League when they're children and that's what they want to go on and win. It has nothing about it.

It's still there, which is worrying, but this feels like a series of own goals released today. You mentioned before, Miguel, that they were seeking recognition from UEFA, but The Times has a quote on the story saying that a source from UEFA has called this a Christmas pantomime.

Are they being a bit bar humbug about it or is that kind of fairly accurate? What would you say? I got a similar one both from within UEFA and outside UEFA, which the description was the regular Florentino Perez pantomime just before you wouldn't have Christmas at this point without it. And I mean, this is I mean, image is obviously a big issue here, but there's also two specific image issues as well.

One is, even if they're right and fans actually acknowledge something is wrong with football right now, which I think a lot of people do in terms of who wins, you know, disparity in football, competitive balance, all of that, this isn't a solution to that, really. All the more so because people do like football's unified pyramid. They don't want it to develop into something like cricket or boxing where you've got all sorts of split competitions. And this would be a challenge to the Champions League.

Secondly, they've got a bigger problem, which is, and it's related to that, which is no matter what they say now and no matter what they try and sell in terms of kind of solidarity and solutions to the game, they won't really ever be able to dissociate themselves from what happened in April 2021. And really, everyone still just sees this as Florentino Perez and Madrid and Barcelona trying to reshape the game in a manner that suits them.

We'll see what happens by next Christmas, shall we? See if they've launched version 4.0. OK, let's just get quickly to Newcastle. Big Carabao Cup quarter-final tomorrow against Brentford. Martyn, let me come to you on this. Kalee, your patch.

Yes, that's a big game and obviously seeking this first trophy in a very long time. But the piece in the mail about an ambitious project has been dramatically slowed down by financial restrictions with fear of a points deduction affecting their aim of winning silver as quickly as possible. What's your take on this story? You'll know this team, this club and the situation better than anyone.

Well, it was me that asked Eddie that question this morning in the press conference. If you rewind back to 2021, Amanda Staveley was the driver of the Newcastle takeover by Saudi Arabia's PIF. And at the time when interviewed, she said within five or ten years, Newcastle will be winning Champions Leagues and Premier Leagues. And within two weeks, the Premier League had brought in associated party transactions, which limited how much money the owners could put into their football club.

And then the next big step was to really increase the strength of the profit and sustainability rules. And it was felt certainly by Newcastle executives at the time when the punishments were flying for Nottingham Forest and Everton that they were kind of warning shots to Newcastle in terms of keeping their spending in line.

for two transfer winners Newcastle haven't spent and in the last summer they sorry last June they had to frantically sell Elliot Anderson and Kuba Minty to comply with PSR rules to make sure that they didn't face a financial penalty which is so that the the conversation with Eddie Howe this morning is

Briefly, if you can, Martin, really briefly. Has the Premier League gone? He said it's been made a lot more difficult. Therefore, things like the League Cup and the FA could become a better target for Newcastle because of the restrictions they're under at the minute. Thank you so much for summing that up so quickly. Really appreciate that. Martin, Miguel, pleasure to speak to you as always.