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Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim has suggested he'd rather give a place on the bench to his 63-year-old goalkeeping coach instead of Marcus Rashford because of a perceived lack of effort.
The England forward has not been involved in a matchday squad for United for six weeks and he was left out once again for Sunday's 1-0 win at Fulham in the Premier League.
With the transfer window closing on 3 February, it is unclear what the future holds for Rashford, who Amorim criticised for not showing the attitude of someone "giving the maximum every day".
"It's always the same reason - the training, the way I see a footballer should do in life. It's every day, every detail," said Amorim, when asked why Rashford was not available.
"If things don't change, I will not change. It's the same situation for every player, if you do the maximum and right things we can use every player.
"You can see on the bench we miss a bit of pace on the bench, but I would put [Manchester United goalkeeper coach Jorge] Vital before a player who doesn't give the maximum every day."
Sources close to Rashford had been adamant the 27-year-old has no issue with Amorim and was willing to play for the club again.
Hopes of a move to AC Milan have been dashed by the arrival of Kyle Walker as the Italian club can only sign one English player this month.
A potential loan to Barcelona depends on the exit of a couple of players and neither Eric Garcia nor Ansu Fati have shown much inclination to leave the Nou Camp.
Former Newcastle goalkeeper Shay Given told BBC Match of the Day: "The fans aren't stupid. They see it's not good enough from the players and Ruben Amorim is just being honest.
"If you don't train hard and dedicate your life, you won't be in the team. You have to show your manager you deserve a place in the team."
Ex-Aston Villa midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger added: "He wants to set an example but, if he does that, they will never be friends again.
"Amorim is also under pressure, if he is very harsh with the players then his teams have to improve."
Amorim has endured a testing start to life as Manchester United manager, having struggled to get his style of play to produce results.
Sunday's game at Fulham looked to be heading towards a drab goalless draw before Lisandro Martinez's deflected strike in the closing stages secured victory.
It was only Manchester United's fourth Premier League win since Amorim took over as manager in November.
Amorim, who turns 40 on Monday, joked: "It's not 40... I'm 50.
"After two months at Manchester United, it's 50. It's a privilege to spend my 40th birthday here."
Amorim will have welcomed the chance to smile as there's not been too many opportunities to do so in his time at the club so far.
The performance at Fulham was not convincing but they got the result, and means they have now won three of their past four games.
"Today was not the best match but we managed to win," added Amorim.
"The important thing is I have a clear idea of what I want to do. Sometimes I'm frustrated.
"We want to play a different style and we are going to play different style in the future."
With just over a week to go until the transfer window closes, Manchester United are yet to make a signing, with the focus having been very much on outgoings.
Winger Antony, who joined Manchester United from Ajax in August 2022 for £81.3m, departed on Saturday to join Real Betis on loan for the rest of the season.
Meanwhile, Argentina forward Alejandro Garnacho has also been linked with a move away from the club, although Amorim started the 20-year-old at Fulham.
Garnacho, like his team-mates, put in a largely flat display at Craven Cottage, but did play a part in the winner, with his cutback eventually finding its way to goalscorer Martinez.
It has been said that selling Garnacho could help Manchester United to bring in funds to make purchases and avoid potentially breaching profit and sustainability rules.
The Red Devils have been linked with potential moves for Lecce full-back Patrick Dorg and Chelsea forward Christopher Nkunku but for now Amorim is having to continue to work with what he has got.
"We have to cautious," he added.
"We did make mistakes in the past and we cannot do it now."
