Manchester United are making “progress” in the search for a new striker, says Erik ten Hag

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Rashford – who signed a new five-year contract this month – was United’s top scorer with 30 goals last season, 17 of them in the league, and has backed the England striker Ten Hag to repeat those figures next season as long as his “attitude is right”.

In February, Ten Hag warned Rashford that he must guard against “laziness” to remain one of the most powerful strikers in Europe.

“When his attitude is right, he will do it, it’s not easy and the team has to play well to put him in the right place,” said Ten Hag.

“When the team plays well, so when we keep the rules and principles in our way of playing and Rashford’s attitude is right and he puts himself in the right place, he will finish because (he has) great ability.

“When he’s in the penalty area, he’s clinical, ruthless, and scores goals with his right and left foot and with his head.”

Anthony Martial returned to team training on Monday for the first time since suffering a hamstring tear at the end of last season. United will listen to offers for the France striker if the offer is right, but Ten Hag maintains he is a valuable asset when fit.

“He was in team practice today, so he’s… really optimistic,” he said. “Of course, when you have a player in your squad, you have to expect that he is available and the players have to take responsibility to be available.

“But when it’s not, I have to deal with the situation and we’ve shown we can be successful without this striker.

“But it’s easier when you have this striker in the team because every team that wins big titles has the goalscoring ability in this team. We need a good team and Anthony Martial is a brilliant footballer so he’ll help us score goals.

“There are other areas like pressing in possession sets, he’s a great player, so we hope he keeps his fitness.”

A young United squad made up mostly of under-21 players plus Jonny Evans, who is on a short-term contract, are due to take on Wrexham at SnapDragon Stadium on Tuesday night local time before senior side Real Madrid play in Houston 24 hours later.

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