Despite splashing £69million on Rashford’s England colleague, the Spanish champions have maintained their interest in securing Rashford’s services. However, their preference for another loan arrangement or a fee below the £26m buy-option written into his original deal has been firmly rejected by United. Rashford could potentially be reintegrated into the first-team fold, but United may well favour cashing in on the forward in order to remove his £315,000-a-week wages from their books as they press ahead with overhauling their pay structure.
United are in the market for a new left-sided winger and while Rashford could be considered the ideal candidate, the sentiment on both sides is that a fresh move elsewhere would be the best outcome, according to the Daily Mail.
That could yet materialise through a return to the Camp Nou, with claims that Barcelona may still push United on their reluctance to sanction another loan arrangement.
Rashford has attracted interest from several of United’s Premier League rivals, with Arsenal, Aston Villa and Tottenham all monitoring his circumstances closely. The latter have already flexed their financial muscle in the transfer market, having pipped United to the signature of West Ham star Mateus Fernandes.
Alex Scott, Aurelien Tchouameni, Tyler Adams and Felix Nmecha have since emerged as potential midfield targets for United, with first-choice objective Elliot Anderson opting to join rivals Manchester City instead.
Three of those four have featured at the World Cup in recent weeks, with Adams and Tchouameni still stateside following round of 32 victories for the USA and France respectively. Germany and Nmecha, meanwhile, suffered a stunning early exit at the hands of Paraguay.
The Borussia Dortmund midfielder has also been linked with Newcastle United as they hunt for a replacement for Sandro Tonali, with the Italian poised to follow Fernandes to north London.
Rashford himself came perilously close to joining Nmecha in suffering a shock World Cup exit, but England battled back from behind to overcome DR Congo. He was handed a starting berth in the knockout tie before making way for Gordon, who set up both of Harry Kane’s goals.