Lee Sharpe believes Marcus Rashford's mistake was telling the media he wanted to leave Manchester United - rather than Ruben Amorim.

Rashford, 27, was left out of the squad that held Liverpool to a 2-2 draw at Anfield. While Amorim made it clear the United academy graduate was absent due to illness, it marked the sixth consecutive match in which Rashford did not play a part.

The England forward has zero minutes under his belt in the five games since his interview with football writer Henry Winter, in which he said he was looking for "new challenge" without specifying whether he meant a new start with a new head coach in Amorim, or a complete departure from Old Trafford. Sharpe believes Rashford's ambiguous language - and the fact he did not tell Amorim in person - could be the main reason he has not featured since.

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In an interview with bookmaker William Hill, ex-United winger Sharpe said: "Yes, you ideally want to wait until the end of the season and then speak with the manager. But again, we don’t know what exactly Marcus has meant by wanting a new challenge.

"We can all speculate that it is time for him to move on from Manchester United and start a new challenge at a new club, but could also mean a new challenge with Amorim and working to get back to his best.

"Amorim has said a Manchester United team with Rashford is better with him, not without him, so there is motivation here for Rashford to return to his best form.

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"But as Amorim looks to see every player perform, he has decided to drop Rashford. So it’s up to Marcus to respond.”

Before Rashford's illness, Amorim appeared to offer some hope that the Mancunian may have a future under him. While he did not get on, the Portuguese boss did include Rashford on the bench for the recent 2-0 home defeat to Newcastle United.

It was the first time Rashford had made the squad since the 2-1 Europa League win over Viktoria Plzeň on December 12. It's believed that there is still a chance he could depart in the January transfer window, with Serie A giants Napoli reportedly interested.

However, before Christmas, Amorim said he wants to hold onto Rashford, stating the team is better when the forward is in the starting line-up. At the time, Amorim said: "I spoke with a lot of players individually and during training.

"What I want is to take the best of Marcus Rashford. I don't talk about the future, I just talk about the present. I want the best from each one of them.

"I just want to win and help the team be better. We are better with Marcus Rashford and it's that simple. We will try different things to push Rashford to the best levels that he has shown me in the past."