Rashford set to miss Liverpool clash with illness

Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford is set to miss Sunday's Premier League trip to Liverpool through illness.

Rashford, 27, was left out of manager Ruben Amorim's squad for four games, initially due to his poor performance in training and his attitude around club colleagues.

Amorim brought Rashford back into the fold for the home defeat by Newcastle on 30 December, only to leave him on the bench as United suffered a fourth consecutive defeat and third successive game without a goal.

Serie A title contenders Napoli are the latest club to be linked with Rashford, who United would be willing to move on loan if his wages, in excess of £300,000-a-week, were covered.

United are 14th place in the league table heading into the weekend's fixtures.

With skipper Bruno Fernandes and midfielder Manuel Ugarte returning from suspension at Anfield, it was not certain whether Rashford would be in Amorim's squad.

But the former Sporting boss has ruled out the possibility.

"At the moment he is ill," said Amorim. "He is not training and this week he is out."

Asked about Rashford's position within the club, he added: "It's the same situation. We will see in the future, but this is like a normal player and then I make a selection."

Amorim has confirmed forward Amad Diallo is close to agreeing a contract extension with United. He also said the club would be triggering the option to extend former skipper Harry Maguire's present deal to 2026.

Amad has been one of the best performers during Amorim's 11-game stint in charge.

The highlight came when Amad scored the winner in last month's Manchester derby at the Etihad Stadium.

The Ivorian's present deal expires in the summer and, while United have the option to extend by a year, there has been negotiation over a deal that runs to 2029.

"Amad is near," revealed Amorim.

Maguire had been made captain during Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's time at the club but was stripped of the honour by Amorim's predecessor Erik ten Hag, who gave the job to Fernandes instead.

The England defender resisted Ten Hag's attempts to sell him to West Ham and eventually regained his place until injury ruled him out for the final part of last season, costing him an FA Cup final appearance and a spot in Gareth Southgate's England squad at Euro 2024.

Maguire's present contract is also due to expire in the summer.

However, while he confirmed Maguire is to remain at Old Trafford for an additional year, Amorim is also demanding more from the 31-year-old, having laid bare the lack of leaders in his squad.

"We are starving for leaders on the pitch," said Amorim.

"I spoke with him and told him he has to improve his game on the pitch. He also has to improve as a leader.

"If you want to be a top team you have to be leaders and we have that in the dressing room but they have to step up.

"You can look at the table but you are still Manchester United so this gap and this pressure of a big club in a really low moment it's hard to cope, so we need the guys who are more experienced to help the others.

"We all know the situation he had here, but we need him a lot and we are happily going to trigger the option."