Ruben Amorim suggested Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho could both feature for Manchester United next time out, though TEAMtalk has been informed one of the pair is now officially up for sale.
Amorim axed Rashford and Garnacho from his squad for Sunday's Manchester derby. The Man Utd boss revealed the pair were informed they would not be included in the matchday squad over WhatsApp, which is common practice and not out of the ordinary.
Explaining his reasoning for ditching the two forwards, Amorim said: "We try to evaluate everything: training, performance, game performance, engagement with the team-mates, pushing the team-mates up.
"Everything is on the line when we analyse, try to choose the players. So that is my selection. Simple."
When speaking in the aftermath of United's dramatic comeback win, Amorim strongly hinted Rashford and Garnacho's exclusions are not permanent and if they show greater application, they can expect a recall.
"It was nothing special," said the United manager. "New week, new life. If they train well, they will compete for a place in the team, if they are better than the other guys in all the situations, inside and outside the pitch.
"They are really talented, and we need Garna and Rash a lot. It was not a disciplinary thing. It's just that we have to improve our standards. They will get used to this."
However, TEAMtalk's transfer insider, Fraser Gillan, has been informed Rashford's race at Old Trafford is run.
Numerous outlets including Sky Germany and The Telegraph have claimed Man Utd are open to offers for Rashford. And on Sunday, Gillan exclusively revealed that Rashford has officially been transfer-listed by the club and there appears to be no way back.
Rashford will be sold in January if a suitable bid is received, though the expectation is a summer exit is far more likely given the costs involved. Man Utd are expected to command somewhere between £40m-£60m for the misfiring frontman.
PSG, Barcelona and Bayern Munich are believed to be showing interest in Rashford whose high salary (£300,000-a-week) will undoubtedly pose a problem to some clubs.
Gary Neville's impassioned response to Rashford, Garnacho snubs
Speaking on The Gary Neville Podcast, the United legend spoke at length about Rashford and Garnacho's situations.
"They've both been poor on the pitch. That's a fact," began Neville. "And Amorim said the selection issue was down to performance and performance and engagement with teammates. That means if they've not been good in the group. That's why they weren't here.
"What he's done is made a bold call. What he has to do is shake this club to its core. I'm a United fan tonight, and I've got a smile on my face because something's happened that I never expected.
"I had no faith or trust in these players to come here today and win, even as bad as City are.
"But Amorim has to make even more bold decisions, because there are a lot of players in that squad who are not good enough to get Amorim where he wants to be and keep him in a job.
"Don't think for one second over the next few years that the players that have won you this game today are going to be able to win you games and get you to where you need to be to keep you in a job, because the others in the past have been conned by finishing second, winning a FA Cup, and they've lost their jobs eventually.
"What he needs to do is get a group of players who can fit with his idea. We know his idea, we've seen that now. It's the 3-4-3, he plays the two narrow off the striker, he plays the two in midfield sitting, and he plays the two wing-backs with the three at the back.
"He needs to make sure he's brutal with it, really brutal. And he's been brutal today. I mean, the easy thing to do would be to put them on the bench and not let the press ask questions.
"But he's taken the really difficult choice, which has paid off because he's won, and those two are sat at home. I think he'll double down now, and realise spirit, togetherness, team ethic is more important than anybody with talent.
"The reason that I stayed at that club for 19 years, and that John O'Shea stayed for a long time, and Nicky Butt, Wes Brown, Tom Cleverley, Darren Fletcher, was because of spirit.
"Honestly, you need everybody every day to run as hard as they possibly can and do everything that they can. That's what Manchester City have done for the last four or five years, with quality as well. But the work ethic has been poor from Garnacho and Rashford.
"We've watched them in those two wide positions for two, three seasons, not running back, thinking that they can play the game without putting the work in."
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