London (AFP) - Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim said he wants to keep Marcus Rashford in his squad after the England forward suggested he could leave Old Trafford for a “new challenge”.

The 27-year-old was dropped by Amorim for Sunday’s win at Manchester City and responded by hinting he would consider ending his time at United.

Rashford came through United’s youth ranks and has chalked up 138 goals in 426 appearances for the club since making his debut in 2016.

However, he has lost form over the last 18 months with United and was also axed from England’s Euro 2024 squad.

Amorim’s first decision of his reign to was followed by Rashford’s interview on social media on Tuesday in which he refused to rule out quitting United.

Amorim, who arrived from Sporting Lisbon in November, was quizzed on Rashford’s comments when he faced the media on Wednesday ahead of United’s League Cup quarter-final at Tottenham on Thursday.

“No (I’ve not spoken to him),” Amorim said. “Not yet. It was yesterday (when) I gave the day off to the lads, so he’s our player and he’s ready for the next game.”

Asked if he would be happy to retain Rashford, Amorim replied: “Of course, because this kind of club needs big talents and he’s a big talent.

“So, he just needs to perform at the highest level and that is my focus. I just want to help Marcus.”

Amorim added the “new challenge” Rashford spoke of could be found at Old Trafford in trying to revive the fortunes of United, once the dominant force in English football, but now a lowly 13th in the Premier League.

“We have here a new challenge, it’s a tough one,” he said.

“For me, it’s the biggest challenge in football because we are in a difficult situation and I already said that this is one of the biggest clubs in the world.

“So, this is a really new challenge and the biggest one. I hope all my players are ready for this new challenge.”

- ‘Always noise about Man Utd’ -

Having endured speculation about his own position amid a troubled campaign, Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou refused to get involved in the debate on Rashford’s future.

“There’s always noise about Manchester United, come on mate. Where have you been?” Postecoglou said on Wednesday.

“No interest. Don’t care. Not interested. He is a Manchester United player. A very good player, they have plenty of good players, but I manage my players and other managers will manage their own players.

“In terms of Marcus’ situation, I have no real desire to examine it any further.”

Tottenham have been linked with a potential January move for Rashford if United are willing to sell.

But the Australian added: “If I looked at everyone we were linked to, I would have no time to do anything else to be honest. I have got other people to do that part of the process.

“For us, we’ve been pretty disciplined in what we’re trying to build here and we’ll continue to be so.”

Pressed again on whether Rashford was a potential target, Postecoglou added: “That’s not on my radar. You can ask me about Marcus but you can ask me about every single Premier League footballer and I’ll say the same.”