As the Manchester United striker search goes on, Ruben Amorim’s solution may actually be found in a player already on the books.
It is proving to be a painstaking process for Manchester United to solve the number nine conundrum this summer.
Having first been rejected by Liam Delap for Chelsea, Ineos’ frustrations grew with United being put on the back burner by Viktor Gyokeres, who preferred a move to Arsenal.
This has seen United continue to consider Victor Osimhen from Napoli, although his wage demands present a substantial hurdle for the club to get beyond.
The lack of options has also seen United begin movements around Hugo Ekitike, with a potentially reduced fee being indicated. However, none of this looks close to completion, with Bryan Mbeumo still likely to be the next United signing this summer despite talks dragging on.
So with all of this in mind, perhaps Ineos will have to look in-house for someone to lead the line.
Marcus Rashford holding ball in Aston Villa kit.
Photo by Alex Livesey – Danehouse/Getty Images
Manchester United might have to re-integrate Marcus Rashford
With the ‘transfer kitty’ at Manchester United this summer far from unlimited, Ineos won’t want to be taking any risks in the signing. This is likely the reason United have been targeting Premier League players, with Matheus Cunha already confirmed as a new signing.
Due to this, if Ineos and Amorim miss out on the top targets this summer, it may be safer to invest elsewhere and attempt to re-integrate Marcus Rashford, although it would take the player to completely switch up his mentality and apologise to Amorim.
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This has always been a possibility, but now, Rashford seems to be in no man’s land, which means all parties might have to re-evaluate. Aston Villa rejected their £40m buy-option to sign Rashford, which took that option off the table.
To make matters worse, Rashford’s dream move to Barcelona is on the ropes as the Catalan giants look to sign Nico Williams from Athletic Club. Fabrizio Romano has claimed Barcelona intend to trigger the release clause, which should all but end Rashford’s dream.
🚨🔵🔴 Barcelona have decided to activate the Nico Williams deal option after getting player’s total priority.
Barça will need more rounds of talks with his agent as they’d need to discuss terms of €58m release clause with Athletic.
Not advanced yet; but Barça are now trying. pic.twitter.com/Y8YBmPVmUE
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 16, 2025
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This perfectly coincides with United’s striker search struggles, which might have all parties reconsidering things. Rashford’s name is available on the United website when ordering a new 2025-26 home shirt, which might be a hint that his sale is not cut and dry yet, considering that both Antony and Jadon Sancho were not listed.
Marcus Rashford was immense as a striker for Ruben Amorim
It would take both sides putting their ego aside in order to make it happen, but if Rashford and Amorim can come to an agreement and put their differences aside, United could have a striker capable of 30 goals or more per season, with “devastating” qualities as Rio Ferdinand told TNT Sports.
Rashford would be perfect between Cunha and Mbeumo, with his knack for running in behind, linking up and carrying the ball, all exactly what Amorim wants from his striker.
In the Premier League, Rashford started twice under Amorim and scored three goals. Before stating his desire to leave. However, now he can see the grass isn’t greener, and the chance to play in this newly ambitious United team with Cunha and Mbeumo must be tempting.
Rashford will always deserve a second chance as he is a boyhood United fan and player, so if no striker is found, this is the best outcome for United.