Marcus Rashford transfer price plummets as Manchester United learn brutal £21m lesson

So much can change in 12 months and Marcus Rashford is learning that the hard way - not for the first time either.

Eight years into his senior career at Manchester United and he has had the hero-to-zero arch more than most manage in a lifetime. In April/May 2023 he was on his way to scoring 30 times for United in all competitions, leading Erik ten Hag to a hugely respectable and largely successful first term in charge. Now, he is the target of social media abuse from some of his own fans and has been booed off by portions of the crowd as well.

The Mancunian, who had led the way for the academy in the recent generation of United youngsters, hit his 100th goal for the club last season. He is just one game away from 400 for the Red Devils, yet none of the positivity that usually comes with these achievements is evident.

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Rashford has taken to online posts to defend himself from people who jeer his goals, and earlier this year his brother spoke out over criticism from the media too. His reputation as a highly-paid attacker without much defensive pedigree has left him open to scathing criticism from supporters and former players.

Local-born graduates tend to find it tougher to thrive in the modern footballing landscape as well, pitted against all the talent in the world at the fingertips of spectators. More tangibly though, his form is poor and that is an immediate frustration that perhaps goes beyond anything else.

Rashford has scored just eight times in all competitions with five assists in 40 matches. He is a long way from the player who scored 10 times in 10 league games between the end of December 2022 and March 2023.

His drop in levels has coincided with Ten Hag struggling to replicate the same standard of performance from his entire side. It is at a time whereby Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos are carrying out a club-wide assessment from top to bottom. When it comes to efficiency, Rashford isn't currently embodying what the new regime in sporting control are after.

But he certainly can. He has a senior career record of a goal or assist almost every other match, only last year he was in the running to be player of the season, and has hit double figures for goals in four individual Premier League campaigns already. He could make that five with a good finish to this year even if it is improbable after two goals in 10.

He is versatile and can play across the frontline, though the wait goes on to truly find his best role. He also regularly plays over 2,500 minutes in the league alone. At 26, he is the type of player that most sides would look to build around with his catalogue and history showing plenty to get behind.

The issue is that for his good years there are some bad ones too. In 2021/22 he managed just four goals and two assists, playing less than 1,500 minutes, struggling with form and fitness. He has followed up the best season of his professional career with his second-worst so far since 2018. He is not a consistent player year-on-year, that is part of the angry response.

This is shown in his estimated value. As a teenager Rashford was deemed be worth over £60million by Transfermakt. Three years on from his debut and that had risen to £68million. The Boy Wonder doing good, shining the light.

During the aforementioned struggles his value dropped to £54million. It coincided with the attention placed on him during the Covid-19 pandemic and his fight against the British government to help feed children around the country. That generated reactions calling for him to focus on football at the time, even if his efforts were also applauded.

Shortly after he was one of the three England players to miss a penalty in the Euro 2020 (played in 2021) final against Italy.

Still young despite his level of experience at such an age, his returns under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer saw his standing improve again steadily, though. The reaction to such a low point was evidence of the mental fortitude Rashford has.

His market value spiked subsequently in December 2021 at £72million despite troubles on the field. It was around this time that reports linking him to Paris Saint-Germain reared. It was claimed in some quarters that the club would hold out for over £120million for him.

But Rashford couldn't keep up those levels and started just 13 league games the season after. Leading into the 2022 World Cup his value plummeted to the lowest it had been since he was teenager. At £46million it was representative of the sour mood around his camp after just four league goals in the first 16 matches on the season.

Rashford's response to that was the hottest streak of his career to date. Once again refusing to let go, taking the fight onto the pitch. Unsurprisingly the value meter shot up again and in August last year he was rewarded with a bumper new contract until 2028.

The story of how things have played out since in now well documented. His current value of £52million is his second-lowest since turning 20. Despite being mainly fit to play he is only slightly more valuable now, the site determines, than at his physical nadir two years ago.

It shows possibly what United have missed out on in terms of generating a transfer fee for a player some now wish to leave, but also the impact that instability at a club can have on an individual. His standing of being valued £21million lower than 2021 certainly poses questions for United.

For Ratcliffe and Co. it is a lesson of what has been and what cannot be allowed to happen again. For Rashford it is the case of proving himself time and time again, getting knocked back and responding. How that embodies itself this time around remains to be seen.