Marcus Rashford reacts to being dropped in Manchester derby by admitting Old Trafford exit could be big.

Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford is ready for a new challenge as he continues to be linked with a move away from the Premier League club.

Sunday, United beat Manchester City 2-1but Rashford, along with Alejandro Garnacho, was omitted from the trip to the Etihad, with new manager Ruben Amorim saying his decision was to hold his players to high standards.

It led to media reports that United were in the hunt for the England forward, who has been at United since the age of seven, and the 27-year-old spoke on the subject while visiting his old school to hand out Christmas presents.

"For me personally, I think I'm ready for a new challenge and the next steps," Rashford told football writer Henry Winter on Tuesday night when asked whether he was staying at United or leaving.

"When I leave, there will be no hard feelings. You are not going to have any negative comments from me about Manchester United. It's me as a person.

“If I know that a situation is already bad, I'm not going to make it worse. I've seen other players leave in the past and I don't want to be that person. When I leave, I will make a statement and it will be from me."

"𝐒е𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨"

This is the reason Ruben Amorim gave for leaving out Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho. #muk's matchday squad today.

No one has scored more PL goals for United this season than these two players. pic.twitter.com/OFlp5smctP

— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) December 15, 2024

Rashford has scored three goals since Amorim took over last month but was sent off in the 56th minute of last week's 2-1 Europa League win over Viktoria Plzen, with fans booing the striker as he left the field.

The player has yet to rediscover the form that saw him score 30 goals in all competitions in the 2022-23 season, but he believes the best is yet to come.

"I'm halfway through my career. I don't expect my peak to be now," Rashford said.

"I've had nine years in the Premier League so far and it's taught me a lot. It helped me grow as a player and as a person.

"So I have no regrets about the past nine years. I won't regret going forward because I take things day by day and sometimes bad things happen, sometimes good things happen."