Manchester United remain in the spotlight during the international break, with Michael Carrick having just over a week before his squad returns to competitive action against Tottenham on October 10. United most recently endured a frustrating draw against Fulham and have subsequently been hit by injury setbacks.
Noussair Mazraoui has recently become the third player from Carrick's squad to pick up a fitness problem while representing his country, alongside Bruno Fernandes and Patrick Dorgu. Kobbie Mainoo and Marcus Rashford were both originally named in Thomas Tuchel's England squad, but the pair chose to pull out citing injury worries.
Rashford 'issue' highlighted
Rooney has dismissed suggestions that Rashford's goalless run this season stems from the 28-year-old dealing with a hip complaint. Rather, the club's record goalscorer has suggested that the problem affecting Rashford's productivity relates to his position within the team, with the England international still awaiting his first goal or assist across six outings.
"No, because I actually think he has done OK in games and he has looked lively and in some games he hasn't," Rooney said on the Stick to United podcast. "But I think in some of the games, he has actually looked quite lively and sharp.
"I think the issue is he's too far away from goal. That's the issue why he's not scoring or creating.
"He's playing too wide. He's playing too deep at times. With Marcus Rashford, with good attacking players who can score goals, you want to get them as close to the goal as possible, and I don't think he's close enough to the goal."
Benzema contract green light
Rio Ferdinand has given his blessing for United to sign former Real Madrid star Karim Benzema as a free agent, amid concerns over the squad's shortage of recognised strikers. Benjamin Sesko is yet to make a league start this season and was absent from the draw with Fulham due to a shin complaint, which also caused his withdrawal from the Slovenia squad.
Matheus Cunha has been utilised as a centre forward and Carrick also has Joshua Zirkzee available, but Ferdinand believes United could benefit significantly from Benzema's vast experience. The 38-year-old has been without a club since departing Al Hilal this summer, having netted 10 goals in 16 appearances for the Saudi Arabian side.
"If you knew you had to manage his [Sesko] minutes, I totally agree with you. Without him, there isn't really a focal point," Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel when discussing United's need for another striker. "We've got players that want to come deep to the ball more often than not and get involved in the build-up, and then you lose that focal point out there.
"But if you had somebody up there who could share the minutes, share the load, help in terms of experience, lend that experience to Sesko for him to learn as well, you'd have been getting so much more out of just a signing to go and play the 90 minutes."
"[Danny] Welbeck springs to mind, obviously, so does Benzema. Two players I feel would have added huge value to the forward line that we have."
