‘Barcelona to do late loan-to-buy Marcus Rashford deal with Man United’
Barcelona are happy to take advantage of the pressure at Man United in their bid to sign Marcus Rashford.
The Red Devils’ Europa League final loss to Tottenham will see Ruben Amorim’s side miss out on an estimated £100million revenue [BBC Sport], thanks to the lack of Champions League football next season.
But that has not stopped the 20-time champions of England from pressing ahead aggressively in their pursuit of their summer targets.
Matheus Cunha joined United from Wolves, and Amorim’s team are looking to secure a deal for Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo.
However, funding these deals and any further moves going forward now looks less straightforward than it once did.
Chelsea cancelled their deal to sign Jadon Sancho permanently, handing over a £5m penalty fee, rather than the £25m the Red Devils would have received if the two sides had been able to work out personal terms.
And with Antony still on the books, and Bruno Fernandes rejecting a move to Al-Hilal, Sunday Times journalist Duncan Castles revealed on the Transfers Podcast that Barcelona are now in a strong position in their pursuit of Rashford, and their likely course of action.
Barcelona happy to let transfer window run down in Marcus Rashford pursuit
Speaking on the podcast, Castles explained what Barcelona‘s approach would likely be in negotiating a deal for Rashford.
He said: (5 May, 43mins): “Marcus Rashford, they set a price of forty million pounds for him when they loaned him to Aston Villa.
“Rashford is again pushing the line of trying to get himself to Barcelona.
“I don’t think it’s hard to work out how Barcelona will handle that. They will see it as a perspective of the player wants to come to us, there’s a good chance Manchester United will not be able to move him elsewhere.
“So let’s just run that through to the end of the window and offer to take him on loan, with with an option to buy.”
Man United may take lower fee for Marcus Rashford
Football Insider Verdict
Just a few months ago, it looked like United may be able to drive Rashford’s price up through a bidding war for the winger.
The 27-year-old was back to his best with Aston Villa, as Unai Emery’s side looked like they would qualify for the Champions League.
But a final day loss to United saw the Midlands side miss out on a place in Europe’s most prestigious competition next season.
Combined with the injury suffered by Rashford near the back end of the campaign, interest looks to have cooled in the England international.
With United keen to operate a swift overhaul of their squad, the Red Devils may be willing to accept a lower fee for the winger in favour of using those funds to continue their summer business, rather than wait for the perfect offer to arrive near the end of the window, or one that is much less than perfect as Barcelona look to take advantage.