Erik ten Hag has already named five Man Utd players who step up with goals after Marcus Rashford injury

Marcus Rashford will end this season as Manchester United’s top scorer by some distance (Image: David Rogers/Getty Images)
Speaking after Manchester United’s Carabao Cup final win at Wembley in February, Sir Alex Ferguson said of Marcus Rashford: “Unfortunately for us, he is the main source of goals – we could do with an extra one.”

Erik ten Hag knows it too and has outlined how he ultimately wants at least two players in his squad who can net more than 15 goals in a season. Rashford – injured against Everton on Saturday – has easily surpassed that total but is the only United star to do so this term.

Bruno Fernandes is the next highest scorer on 10, with five of these coming in the Premier League – a third of the amount Rashford has netted in the competition. Fernandes is not a striker though.

The three centre-forwards to have played for the club this season – Anthony Martial, Wout Weghorst and the exited Cristiano Ronaldo – have a combined tally of 12. The latter departed in November after scoring three times while it remains to be seen whether two-goal Weghorst will stay past his loan spell.

The Manchester Evening News understands Martial is set to be put on the for-sale list this summer, too. It has been evident for some time that United need a marquee striker but these facts make the requirement as clear as day.

The last time at least two Reds players surpassed the 15-goal mark was in the 2020/21 season when Fernandes, Rashford and Edinson Cavani tallied a combined 65 goals. The most recent campaign that saw two stars pass the benchmark in the Premier League was back in the 2019/20 season when Rashford and Martial got 17 apiece.

The latter was one of the players Ten Hag circled as squad members who can step up to help take the goal burden off Rashford. Speaking pre-Everton, the Reds manager said: “The good thing is Anthony Martial is getting fit and fitter, so when he is back he can definitely score goals, so we already have two players who are capable of scoring 15 goals or more.”