Ruben Amorim has clarified Marcus Rashford wants to play for Manchester United and is "trying" to regain his place in the side.

Rashford has been omitted from the matchday squad for the last three games due to his training form and he last week outlined his desire for a "new challenge", fuelling the possibility of a move in the January transfer window.

United have lost both of their games since Rashford addressed his future in an interview on December 17 and the 27-year-old has participated in team training sessions at Carrington over the past week.

READ MORE: 'If I knew I would solve this' - Ruben Amorim references latest Manchester United leak in impassioned press conference

READ MORE: Ruben Amorim has addressed the elephant in the room with Marcus Rashford at Manchester United

The United hierarchy will not intervene in Amorim's handling of Rashford, who is unhappy that United alerted clubs to his availability without informing him. United sources insist they have not held any Rashford-specific conversations with prospective buyers.

Amorim questioned Rashford's advisers for orchestrating an interview with the journalist Henry Winter two days after he was omitted from the squad for the Manchester derby but said he had avoided speaking about the matter with Rashford.

"Yeah, it’s my decision. He wants to play, he’s trying," Amorim said. "It’s my decision. Only my decision. I spoke with a lot of players individually, during trainings, so I try to do things and I am doing things my way and is the only way I know. If I don’t do that, I will lose myself, and I will not lose myself, I know what I am doing.

"When I feel that is the right moment, I will change something. Until then, I will continue to think what is best for the team. I speak with him every day, not about the interview, about the performance."

Amorim denied the Rashford situation was a distraction for United. "No, I don’t think so. Not for me. Not for the other players. Because everybody is there every day during training, so they understand, and that is the key point.

"For the media and for the other people, I cannot control that, but I am really focused and they know. I am so clear in my message, everybody in Carrington knows what I’m talking about and what I want from Marcus and everybody else, so it’s not a distraction for us. Maybe it is for the media but that is not my concern."

Amorim cited Rashford's form in training and in matches, as well as his engagement with teammates, behind his call to drop him against Manchester City on December 15. Rashford trained on the morning of the derby and was unwell the next day but has reported at Carrington on the allocated training days.

United figures have reiterated Rashford has not been exiled from the first team squad, as Jadon Sancho was last season. Amorim suggested there was a route back into the side for Rashford and highlighted his seniority as a senior squad member of nearly nine years.

"Like any other player, the best that they can be," he replied when asked what he wanted from Rashford. "If you have big talent: big performance, big responsibility, big engagement, like push forward everybody in this moment.

"And some guys have a big responsibility here because they are here for a long time. So this is maybe one of the lowest moments in our club, so we have to face it and be strong in this moment, that’s what I want for every player on the team."