Roy Keane says the ‘penny has dropped’ for Marcus Rashford and he’s now the ‘main man’ at Man United

Roy Keane claimed that Marcus Rashford has turned a corner in his Manchester United career and is now able to step up to the plate for his side. 

The former United midfielder claimed that the penny has now dropped for the 25-year-old at Old Trafford, as his blistering forms continues with a stunning strike against Nottingham Forest in Tuesday’s 3-0 victory. 

The Red Devils took a giant step towards the Carabao Cup final with their comfortable victory at the City Ground, with Erik ten Hag labelling Rashford as ‘unstoppable’ for his role in the match.  

Marcus Rashford scored a fantastic solo effort to open the scoring against Nottingham Forest

Keane suggested that the England star’s recent success is perhaps down to his age, with the forward now approaching his prime. 

Rashford has no scored 18 and assisted six in 29 appearances in 2022-23

‘It comes with confidence,’ Keane began. ‘He’s 25 years of age. Maybe this is where he’s peaking now.

‘The last few years he’s played a lot of games for United, he’s played in big games for England. Sometimes the penny drops for a player, in terms of his decision making. And they’ve needed him. This is the question I’ve had for Marcus over the years, “has he got that personality to step up to the plate?”.

‘United have had some great strikers over the years. (Cristiano) Ronaldo, (Ruud) van Nistelrooy, Andy Cole, Mark Hughes… the list goes on! I think United need someone like that.

‘I’m hoping Marcus is saying “I want that responsibility to be the main man”.

‘The great players turn up week in, week out – and it looks like Marcus is enjoying that responsibility.’

In recent weeks, the 25-year-old has seemingly assumed the role of one of the club’s leaders, having repeatedly taken on the burden on the pitch and supplied goals to get his side over the line. 

Roy Keane believes that the ‘penny’ has dropped for Rashford at the club in recent weeks

He has scored in eight different matches this season in the Premier League, and in five of those his goals decided the outcome. 

He has had his issues with injury in the past as well, missing 12 games last season due to three different problems, and was absent for a further 16 in 2019-20. 

But Keane suggested that Rashford was now in much better physical condition, which has led to a reduction in ‘niggles’, and greater focus on his playing career has help him become one of his nation’s best attackers.

The England star has now scored 10 goals in his last 10 appearances in all competitions 

‘We were down pitch-side and when you see the players, you look at Marcus coming out and he looks lean,’ Keane continued. ‘You wouldn’t want to be up against him. If you’re a full-back and he’s running at you, all the best!

‘Sometimes when a player leaves the club, that responsibility comes onto a player. He’s 25, he’s not a child anymore. He’s ready for that. He doesn’t seem to have any more niggles anymore. Last year, he missed one or two games with niggly injuries. 

‘He seems to have cleared all that up. I think he’s in a good place mentally, which is huge. He reckons he took too much on away from football. 

‘Being a top footballer is hard enough, sometimes you have to put all of that stuff on the backburner and focus on being a brilliant footballer for Manchester United.’