Teddy Sheringham: Marcus Rashford doesn’t have a future at Man Utd and “Fergie would’ve booted him out the door by now”

Speaking exclusively to OLBG, the former Manchester United forward says Ruben Amorim has made what he’s about clear and said that he likes what he’s doing. In the transfer window, Sheringham says United need to buy “top players” that “lead by example” and missed out on Declan Rice and Harry Kane when they were available two years ago. Sheringham has also tipped Arsenal and Tottenham to draw 3-3 on Wednesday (15th).

Q: Spurs have had a very mixed start - will Ange be in trouble if he doesn’t win a trophy this season?

TS: “Yes, well, it depends on where they get to in the Cups.

“Ange Postecoglou has obviously said that he wins things in his second year.

“That could be interesting if he doesn't, but also interesting if he does. To be honest, it would be quite apt if he does win a trophy.

“If they go out in the next round of the FA Cup, and go out in the semi-final of the League Cup, and get knocked out in the Europa League, and finish where they are in the league at the moment, then it wouldn't be a good season.

“They're a very up-and-down team, a very inconsistent team, but they've got a lot of players missing at the moment.

“If they get some of them back and they go on a run, who knows what will happen? It's still very early in the season at the moment to say ifs and buts.

“But from his point of view, the plan will still be to win something, that's what it's all about in football”.

Q: Do you think Dominic Solanke is the right man to replace Harry Kane and how good do you think he can become?

TS: “There were question marks at the start of the season on who would be the right man to come in, but I think he's proven himself very well.

“You only have to see his goal that he made the other day against Liverpool, it was fantastic centre-forward play.

“I think he's well on the way to being a very, very good signing.

“I said at the start of the season, I was optimistic and impressed by him and there's no reason to change my mind at the moment”.

Q: Which players should Spurs be looking to sign in the transfer window this month?

TS: “I think Ange Postecoglou would be very delighted if he got his players that are already at the club fit - that would be just as good as new signings.

“If you think of Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero and Guglielmo Vicario as well, they're three top players.

“If you took them out of any team or if you added them to any team, it's going to have a huge impact on the whole team.

“I have to say people like Archie Gray have been fantastic and it's an unbelievable experience he's getting at the moment.

“Having said that, there is no experience that compares to having your top players playing.

“There's nothing like it when you're playing in a team and your two centre-halves are controlling everything across the pitch”.

Q: What are your thoughts and score predictions for Arsenal vs Spurs?

TS: “I think they're the hardest team to predict at the moment Tottenham.

“There's got to be goals in the game, hasn’t there? Arsenal don't normally concede that many and they're very strong at the back, but Tottenham can unlock a lot of defences, most defences.

“Arsenal can score goals at the moment, so I’d say 3-3.”

Q: Do you think Ruben Amorim is the right man for the job at Manchester United and what should be his target this season?

TS: “I think he's come in and he's made it quite clear what he’s all about.

“I think it's quite evident the way he's trying to get his teams playing in the last two games.

“He had a shocking run before that, but hopefully that was just showing the hierarchy what needed to be done and be changed for the club to get back to where it needs to be.

“Hopefully that little period is over and now he can improve everybody individually and collectively as a manager.

“I like what he does”.

Q: Which club should Marcus Rashford go to to reignite his career? Could he have a future back at Man United if he goes out on loan?

TS: “I don't know and I don't care really.

“I think the way he's come out and said that ‘he's ready for a new challenge’ is beyond me.

“You used to get foreigners coming into England saying that sort of thing and people think ‘yeah, okay’.

“However, when it’s one of your own from Manchester; a Manchester boy that should understand the privilege it is to play for Manchester United and where you're at when you're playing for Manchester United.

“Every player in the world growing up still wants to play for Manchester United and he's saying now that he wants a new challenge somewhere.

“I don't understand it!

“Fergie would’ve booted him out the door by now if he'd have said that while he was in his tenure.

“He's obviously going to go somewhere, but I think his days are numbered at Man United”.

Q: Which players should Manchester United sign in January?

TS: “Not names specifically, but the stature of the player.

“I've been saying for a couple of years now that they need to buy not ‘good players’ or ‘very good players’, but they need to buy ‘top players’.

“They need to break the bank to bring in top players so that they lead by example.

“People like Declan Rice and Harry Kane were available nearly two years ago now and they were nowhere near signing them. They would’ve been the stature of a player that Man Utd should have been signing.

“They come into the club, they lead by example, they're proper professionals and everybody looks at them and understands what it's like to be a top professional and they want to be like them.

“At the moment, there's no one really at Manchester United leading by example and they need to get back to having those top players in the club and doing that”.

Q: What are your thoughts and score predictions for Manchester United’s next two fixtures against Southampton and Brighton?

TS: They’re both tricky games in their own way.

“Both are on paper a formality, but that doesn't happen in football anymore, especially within the Premier League.

“Southampton should be, I understand that, but Brighton have been very solid this year and they've surprised a few in games they’ve played.

“I like the way Brighton play their game, so United will have to be on top of their game.

“It should be a formality, but it doesn't work like that does it?”

Q: What do you make of West Ham’s appointment of Graham Potter? Is he the right man for the job?

TS: “Yes, I really like it. I think it's a good fit at last for West Ham.

“He's been out of a job and he's waited for the right job to come along. I think it's been two years, nearly two years since he's been out of a job.

“I don't know why, I just think there's something about the situation that means he will be a good manager for West Ham.

“I think he's got the right vibes and he's got some decent players there at West Ham, attacking players, similar to those he had at Brighton as well.

“So I'm very optimistic for West Ham”.

Q: Are there any players he should be looking to bring in, possibly a striker?

TS: “Yes, of course.

“With Antonio being out for a while now, I think you've got to start looking at filling that position. Niclas Füllkrug, he looks like a decent player.

“But they should be looking at any player that's going to enhance the squad, not just the centre-forward position.

“Anyone that's going to give them a lift and go down as a bit of a statement signing for the West Ham fans to say, ‘we're looking ahead rather than just to stand still’ would be good for West Ham.

“It would be any £20M player plus that makes a statement for me that they should sign”.

Q: Will Nottingham Forest qualify for the Champions League or even win the league?

TS: “I can't see them winning the league, so Champions League has to be the target now.

“They're doing very well and they're surprising people week in, week out with their home performances and their away performances.

“They look like a real solid team.

“When you look at their front three of a big strong centre forward and two quick, lively wingers that supply him, plus your midfield boys doing their stuff, they look a formidable team and they all seem to be playing for Nuno and still surprising us.

“I think if they do get in the Champions League, it would surprise us all even more because we all know what it's like at the end of the season in the Premier League.

“It becomes a long drawn out affair, but Forest don’t have any European games like a lot of the teams at the top of the league have, so they'll get the rest at the right times and hopefully they'll carry on.

“Yes, they're fantastic at the moment”.

Q: Do you think Portsmouth can stay up in the Championship this season?

TS: “Yes, that's going to be a tough one for them.

“They've fallen dramatically, so it's going to be a tough one.

“I know when you get down that relegation fight it’s tough.

“They're going to have to show some character to get out of that equation”.

Q: How do you rate Thomas Tuchel as a manager and do you think that he can deliver the World Cup in 2026?

TS: “That's the big question.

“I was very surprised that he didn't take the job straight away knowing how short of time you get with England players and how much time you have to deal with them and change their philosophy.

“The England job seems like an easy task, but I think it's a never-ending task as well.

“I think that the three months he had in between signing and starting his job could have been valuable. So I was surprised by that fact, but I think he has belief in his own management style, which is good.

“If you're going to be a top manager, you have to have that way of believing in yourself, but I think it's a real tough job because anything other than getting to a final won't be good enough as the next England manager because Gareth Southgate did such a fantastic job.

“At the end of the day, it's all about results and Gareth got the results and it still wasn't good enough.

“So he's got to get the results and play with a bit of flair as well, but if things are more flair than results, then you become unstuck. So it's a tough job he's got, but I can only wish him well”.

Q: Do you think there's a decision to be made over Harry Kane's England future and should he still be leading the line as number nine and captain?

TS: “I don't think there's any decisions to be made, no.

“I think you have to take it when you play for England that yes, he might be getting a little bit older now, but if he's still doing the business then obviously Tuchel knows him very well.

“If he's still doing the business for England, he'll be chosen without a doubt.

“I think his game has changed, as did Alan Shearer's over the years.

“He's still probably the main man.

“If you have a chance of it falling to anyone in the 88th minute, 89th minute, you want it to fall to Harry Kane because he is still that good and until that changes, then he will still be the captain and the leading marksman”.

Q: Jose Mourinho has said that Millwall would be his ideal club to manage - how good would that be?

TS: “I think that was very tongue in cheek.

“I don't know how the Millwall fans would take him.

“It'd certainly be a sight for sore eyes, wouldn't it, to see him down at the new Den”.