Rooney pinpoints Rashford's positional problem as Ferdinand urges Benzema free transfer

Wayne Rooney has identified a positional problem as the reason Marcus Rashford has yet to score or assist in six appearances for Manchester United this season, while Rio Ferdinand has urged the club to pursue free agent Karim Benzema during the international break.

Rashford returned to United after a loan spell at Barcelona and has featured regularly under manager Michael Carrick, but the 28-year-old is yet to register a goal or assist. Rooney, United’s record goalscorer, dismissed suggestions that a hip problem is to blame, instead pointing to where Rashford is being deployed on the pitch.

“I think the issue is he’s too far away from goal,” Rooney said on the Stick to United podcast. “He’s playing too wide. He’s playing too deep at times. With Marcus Rashford, with good attacking players who can score goals, you want to get them as close to the goal as possible, and I don’t think he’s close enough to the goal.”

Carrick heads into the break with several fitness concerns to manage. Noussair Mazraoui picked up a problem while on international duty, and both Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo withdrew from Thomas Tuchel’s England squad citing injury concerns. Benjamin Sesko, meanwhile, missed the 0-0 draw with Fulham with a shin complaint and subsequently pulled out of the Slovenia squad, leaving United short of a natural centre forward.

Matheus Cunha has been used as a makeshift striker, with Joshua Zirkzee also available, but Ferdinand believes the squad lacks a genuine focal point in attack. His proposed solution is Benzema, who has been without a club since leaving Al Hilal this summer.

“If you knew you had to manage his minutes, I totally agree with you. Without him, there isn’t really a focal point,” Ferdinand said. The 37-year-old former Real Madrid striker scored 10 goals in 16 appearances for Al Hilal before his departure.

United return to Premier League action against Tottenham Hotspur on 10 October, giving Carrick just over a week to address both his selection headaches and the team’s lack of cutting edge in the final third.