West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic has made it clear that the Hammers will not be entering the market for Manchester United wonderkid Marcus Rashford come January.
The 2016/17 season has been difficult for Marcus Rashford. Zlatan Ibrahimovic arrived at Old Trafford in the summer, and as a result, Rashford has been restricted to being the understudy of the Swedish superstar or playing as a winger whenever called upon by manager Jose Mourinho.
Rashford has started just eight games for Manchester United in the Premier League so far, with six other appearances off the bench. Recent reports have linked the young striker with a loan move to West Ham United, citing that the England international is looking to get more minutes under his belt.
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic, while admitting that investing in an English player is a priority, has put the Rashford rumours to bed recently, insisting that he is a key figure for Manchester United.
As reported by Daily Mail, Bilic said: “English and British players have priority as this is an English club.”
When asked about the Rashford links though, Bilic said: “No way. Rashford is very valuable for Manchester United. There’s no way. There’s no way to get him. They have many games, four competitions. He’s playing. So no way. No way.”
West Ham are running thin on striking options currently, as Slaven Bilic sweats to add reinforcements in the forward department. Simone Zaza has had a horrific time on loan from Juventus and has failed to make any sort of impact whatsoever.
Diafra Sakho has spent the majority of the season on the treatment table and has managed just two outings for the club so far. That leaves Bilic with the injury prone duo of Andy Carroll and Andre Ayew as his senior striker options.
The Londoners have been linked with former striker Jermaine Defoe in recent weeks as well, The 34-year-old veteran is having a late career resurgence of sorts with eight goals in 18 appearances for Sunderland, and he could be a worthy enough option for Bilic to consider as well.
One thing’s certain though. Marcus Rashford is staying put at Manchester United, with Bilic ruling out a move for the highly talented youngster.
