Manchester United defender Maguire expressed his hope that Rashford would stay at Old Trafford, as he can improve the team's strength.

Rashford came on as a substitute in Manchester United's 2-4 pre-season loss to Milan, his first appearance for Manchester United since December 2024. He had a brilliant moment near the corner flag and almost scored. Carrick gave him the No. 9 shirt, but Manchester United stressed that the number was not permanently assigned. Forward Sesko, who was expected to wear the No. 9 shirt, was absent due to injury, which highlighted the uncertainty surrounding Rashford's future before the September 1 transfer deadline.

Carrick was unable to confirm last week whether Rashford would stay, and Maguire was equally uncertain about his teammate's future, but hoped Rashford would stay. Maguire said: "The transfer window is still open. As players, we want him to stay because he's a huge asset. He definitely improves us, and you saw when he came on, he caused a lot of problems for the defense, he could have scored, he's a huge threat."

"I've played with Rashford for many years, and I know that whether it's playing against him or training with him, he helps us." However, Rashford's return coincided with what Maguire admitted was Manchester United's "worst" pre-season performance – Manchester United will play away against Hull City in the first round of the Premier League a week later.

Captain Bruno Fernandes missed a penalty for the second consecutive game, otherwise Manchester United would have been 2-1 up at halftime. However, his partnership with Tielemans was encouraging, as the two played the full 90 minutes for the first time. Maguire said: "We want to play further forward, be more aggressive, and be more proactive. This was the only game where I felt we didn't play up to par in that regard. We had a lot of high turnovers and created chances, but we couldn't sustain enough pressure."

During the long five-week, six-game pre-season preparation, Maguire captained the team in the early games in Bruno Fernandes's absence, which perhaps means he will be vice-captain this season, although this has not yet been confirmed.

Maguire also spoke positively about former manager Amorim. After the match, Amorim told La Gazzetta dello Sport: "I am proud to have coached Manchester United, and I still love Manchester United." He hugged familiar journalists and joked: "Did you miss me, guys?" He also laughed that without him, press conferences were "more boring."

Maguire had no complaints about Amorim's 14-month tenure. "It was great to see him and his coaching staff. I have a good relationship with Amorim and his coaching staff. I'm glad he has the opportunity to prove himself again and show everyone what a great coach he is. I believe he can succeed. I have nothing negative to say about Amorim, it's just that he didn't succeed at Manchester United. But now he's coaching a big club, and I'll be following them and hope they have a great season."

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