Marcus Rashford could yet return to Manchester United in the summer despite Barcelona’s known interest in the England international.
Marcus Rashford left Manchester United in the summer for a season-long loan in Catalonia with Hansi Flick’s Barcelona. The forward was forced out of the door after being named in Rúben Amorim’s “Bomb Squad”.
Interest in Rashford was believed to be high after an impressive six-month loan at Premier League rivals Aston Villa, who couldn’t convince Rashford to stay at the club, with Jadon Sancho replacing him this season.
Director of Football Jason Wilcox settled on Barcelona for the 2025/26 season, and potentially beyond, as a £26 million buy-option was inserted into the loan contract.
After a good spell for Barcelona, despite being on the bench for the majority, Rashford has been heavily linked with a permanent move to Camp Nou, and recent reports have suggested he would like to stay in Spain.
United have already begun to search for Rashford’s replacement, with a new five-man shortlist created, including a Premier League star.
Romano issues Rashford update
In just 38 appearances for Barcelona, Rashford has registered 10 goals and 10 assists, while being forced to play backup across the frontline for Raphina, Robert Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal.
On his future in Spain, Fabrizio Romano said: “The point on Rashford is that personal terms are almost agreed between Rashford and Barcelona. As I always mentioned, with the elections at Barcelona nothing is going to happen this month in terms of club-to-club negotiations between Barcelona and Manchester United.
“So we have to wait for those stages where Barcelona can actually reach an agreement with Manchester United.
“What I can tell you today is that if Barcelona don’t pay the €30 million (£26m), the message from Manchester United is clear: the player comes back and they will have plenty of clubs interested in signing Rashford after he did very well at Barcelona.
“United feel very relaxed. Either Barcelona pay the €30 million (£26 million) or they are prepared to sell the player elsewhere in the summer. From Barcelona they are also quite relaxed because they already have an agreement with Rashford and the contract is almost ready.
“Financially, they have to see the timing of the negotiation with Manchester United to reach an agreement on the final fee. But from United there is no intention to negotiate. Barcelona have to pay this money if they want to keep Rashford, otherwise the situation will be different in the summer.
“Reaching an agreement with the player is already a very important step, and I think there are very good chances to see Rashford staying at Barcelona for the long term.”
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Cunha must step up soon
While he hasn’t actually played for United for almost 18 months, Rashford will be a big loss for the club, especially if Michael Carrick keeps his position as head coach going into the new season.
Carrick plays a 4-2-3-1 formation and likes his wingers to stay wide, before running at their full-back and putting a cross into the box or cutting inside to shoot. Amad has shown the ability to do this, but Matheus Cunha has yet to show it on the left. But the signs are there.
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Against Newcastle, Cunha often received the ball on the touchline before beating Kieran Trippier with ease, just as Rashford would.
Cunha has all the attributes to become an important player in Carrick’s frontline, and he could do it before the end of the season, but he must make the step up soon. Perhaps against Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon.
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