Harry Maguire on Marcus Rashford's Revival at Manchester United

Harry Maguire believes Marcus Rashford is ready to matter again at Manchester United – and not on the fringes, but at the heart of what Michael Carrick is trying to build.

Rashford started his first Premier League game for the club in 21 months in the 5-2 win over Ipswich at Old Trafford, a number that underlines just how far he had drifted from the picture. On Saturday, he looked like a man trying to rewrite the story. Sharp, direct, and constantly probing, he was one of United’s main attacking threats in a chaotic, open contest.

Only a few months ago, the idea of Rashford leading the line for United again felt remote. His relationship with former manager Ruben Amorim broke down, his form nosedived, and the club sent him out on loan – first to Aston Villa, then to Barcelona. The Catalan side had the option to keep him for £26m. They walked away. That decision now shapes United’s season.

With the transfer window closing on Tuesday night, Rashford’s future suddenly looks far more straightforward. He stays. He fights. He matters.

“He's a great talent. He's always a threat,” said Maguire, who knows better than most what it means to be written off at Old Trafford and then asked to start again. “If Marcus wants to be here, wants to work, wants to improve and help the team, of course we're willing to have him in the team.

“He could still do a lot more and I think he'll say he can do more but if we keep him fit, we keep him happy, he keeps driven and hungry, he's a great asset to have.”

Those words land against a difficult backdrop. The noise around Rashford has been relentless for years. His work-rate has been questioned. His commitment has been doubted. At times, the more brutal question has been thrown at him: does he even enjoy football anymore?

His time away from Old Trafford has changed him. Under Unai Emery at Villa and Hansi Flick at Barcelona, Rashford rediscovered structure and detail, a different kind of demand. Those who have worked with him talk about a player who responds when challenged properly. Carrick, who has known Rashford since his breakthrough years, is seen as the ideal figure to tap back into that.

“You've got to remember Marcus has had a wonderful career for this club,” Maguire said. “But when you play at this club for numerous years, there's going to be bad seasons, and when the bad seasons come everyone piles on you. That's part and parcel of playing for this club.

“As a club, we haven't been perfect from top to bottom. We haven't been challenging at the top end. So, Marcus has been part of a rough ride for Manchester United.

“When that happens, players get dug out. I've been through it.”

Maguire’s own story mirrors Rashford’s in uncomfortable ways. He lost his place. He lost the captaincy under Erik ten Hag. At one point, his exit felt inevitable. He stayed, rebuilt, and has forced his way back into the side. That perspective colours how he speaks about his teammate.

“He's come back in, really fit and sharp and we're excited to have him,” Maguire added.

For Carrick, Rashford almost feels like a new signing, a high-ceiling forward suddenly available again just as the squad begins to take shape. The United head coach has already shown he can breathe life into careers that looked stuck. Kobbie Mainoo is the clearest example.

Overlooked repeatedly by Amorim, the midfielder has been transformed under Carrick, who trusted him, refined his game, and made him central to United’s plans. Now, Carrick must do it again – not with a forgotten squad player, but with one of the club’s biggest names.

Mainoo started his first game of the season against Ipswich and grew into it after United fell behind. While Rashford drew the eye in attack, Mainoo quietly took control of the midfield battle.

“I thought he was brilliant,” Maguire said. “To say he hasn't had many minutes in pre-season, he was magnificent.

“His work without the ball has improved so much since Michael's been in. He's becoming a real monster in there, wins a lot of second balls and a lot of duels.”

There is another challenge on the horizon for the 19-year-old. England manager Thomas Tuchel did not give him a single minute at the World Cup, a decision that stung and now needs to be managed. Carrick, once again, finds himself in the role of repair man, tasked with lifting a young player who has every reason to feel overlooked.

“The thing is he's so young,” Maguire said. “If we want him to play for this club for another 10 years, there's going to be times where he's going to go through a patch like I spoke about with Rashy and myself.

“But that's part and parcel. He's really level-headed, really composed and has great belief in his ability.

“He's going to be a magnificent player for this club for many years.”

Between Rashford, the reborn senior forward, and Mainoo, the emerging midfield “monster”, Carrick’s United suddenly look less like a team in transition and more like one with a core to build around. The question now is simple: can this version of Rashford, fit, driven and finally settled, carry that promise into the months that will define United’s season?