Last month, after Marcus Rashford netted twice in his Champions League debut for Barcelona at Newcastle, Ruben Amorim was questioned at a press conference the next day about the performance of the Manchester United exile.

Amorim responded by pointing out, ‘Rasmus scored his first goal for Napoli, so I’m really happy for him too. The focus should be on Rasmus as well, since he also found the net.’

By diverting attention from Rashford, Amorim highlighted the bright start of Rasmus Hojlund in Italy, showcasing another former player thriving beyond the high-pressure environment of Old Trafford.

On Tuesday, Alejandro Garnacho marked his first Champions League start for Chelsea with an assist, contributing to the game’s only goal when Benfica’s Richard Rios scored an own goal. Just two days later, Hojlund found the net twice in Napoli’s victory over Sporting Lisbon, playing alongside Scott McTominay, who has flourished since moving to Serie A two months before Amorim’s arrival.

Meanwhile, Rashford continued his impressive form with a brilliant assist during Barcelona’s exciting 2-1 loss to Paris Saint-Germain, assisting Ferran Torres in putting the Catalans ahead.

Ex-Man United forward Rasmus Hojlund scored twice in the Champions League on Wednesday

Hojlund joins Scott McTominay in appearing to enjoy a new lease of life away from Man United

Marcus Rashford impressed for Barcelona against PSG and is delivering goal contributions

This performance echoed his display during a loan spell at Aston Villa against PSG in last season’s quarter-finals, where the Premier League club nearly upset the eventual European champions. Rashford now boasts a goal or assist in each of his last six appearances for Barcelona.

Yes, Hojlund and Amorim’s so-called ‘bomb squad’ seem to be ticking along very nicely, thank you very much.

As he clings onto his job at Old Trafford, United’s head coach has got enough problems of his own right now without worrying about what is going on elsewhere.

But that doesn’t make it any less embarrassing that the players he has effectively banished from United are enjoying a new lease of life while Amorim’s side have stumbled into the new season. And it doesn’t make it any less galling for United fans, sitting at home fuming as they watch their former players performing on the European stage.

There is a degree of sympathy for Amorim that Rashford was failing to produce the kind of form he showed in Erik ten Hag’s first season long before Amorim replaced the Dutchman last November.

The player’s attitude and body language had exasperated even his most ardent supporters before Amorim famously said that he would rather pick his 63-year-old goalkeeper coach Jorge Vital than Rashford.

Antony had already been written off as arguably the most expensive mistake in United’s history before Amorim set foot inside Old Trafford. Hojlund simply wasn’t scoring enough goals, although the question marks over the service he was receiving seem more valid than ever.

By disrespecting his manager in public after last season’s Europa League final, Garnacho went the same way as another member of the bomb squad, Jadon Sancho, when he took on Ten Hag.

It is embarrassing to players Ruben Amorim jettisoned performing as his side keep stumbling

Alejandro Garnacho was axed for disrespecting Amorim, with many supporters backing the decisions the Man United boss to offload stars who were failing to deliver for the club

Many had hoped Amorim would be able to relate to young stars and get a tune out of them

Sancho is spending the last year of his United contract on loan at Villa after spells with Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund. It would be just Amorim’s luck that he scores in the Europa League at Feyenoord on Thursday night.

But wasn’t Amorim brought in to work with young players? Having only turned 40 in January, shouldn’t he relate to them better than Ten Hag? To get Rashford back to his best? To have the same effect on Hojlund as he did on Viktor Gyokeres at Sporting?

Hojlund was desperate to stay at United but knew the game was up when the club signed Benjamin Sesko and he was left out of the squad entirely for the first four games of the season.

Although the Slovenian got his first goal at the seventh attempt at Brentford last weekend, he doesn’t look like a significant upgrade on Hojlund after United agreed to pay RB Leipzig up to £73.7million.

Wingers Rashford, Garnacho, Antony and Sancho were jettisoned so Amorim could sign the wide players to better suit his 3-4-2-1 system, with a further £133.5m going on Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha.

Meanwhile, the club took a considerable hit on Hojlund and three of the five bomb squad players who were forbidden from training with the rest of the first-team group this summer – a decision by Amorim that severely impaired the club’s ability to get the best price for them.

Benjamin Sesko is off the mark but the £73.7m forward does not seem an upgrade on Hojlund 

Hojlund wanted to stay but knew his time was up when he was axed from the squad

Hojlund cost United £72m but his loan deal with Napoli includes an obligation to buy for £38m. Antony was signed for £86m and went to Betis for £21.65m after impressing there on loan last season.

Rashford was once a £100m player, but United have an agreement with Barcelona to sell him for £26m next summer. Garnacho, valued at £70m in January, joined Chelsea for £40m.

For a club struggling to comply with profit and sustainability rules, these losses are considerable. As the pressure builds once again, Amorim can only hope he doesn’t end up paying the price.