Man Utd forward Marcus Rashford is now ‘closer’ to sealing a move to Barcelona after Aston Villa chose not to take up their option, according to reports.
Rashford left Old Trafford in the January transfer window as Aston Villa took him on loan for the remainder of the season after a falling out with Ruben Amorim.
The Man Utd forward was directly involved in ten goals in 17 matches at Villa Park in a successful loan spell that has once again boosted his reputation around Europe, to the delight of the Red Devils.
It is clear that Rashford has to leave this summer unless there is an incredible U-turn from Amorim, who publicly stated in January that he’d rather play his goalkeeper coach than the Man Utd forward.
When asked why Rashford wasn’t being selected, Amorim replied in a press conference: “It’s always the same reason: the training, the way I see a footballer should do in life. It’s every day, every detail.
“If things don’t change, I will not change. It’s the same situation for every player, if you do the maximum and right things we can use every player.
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“You can see on the bench we miss a bit of pace on the bench. But I would put [Man Utd goalkeeper coach Jorge] Vital before a player who doesn’t give the maximum every day.”
Amorim did admit that he was “really happy” to see Rashford doing well on his loan spell, he commented in April: “All players on loan will return and then the club will decide what to do at the end of the season. The talent of Rashford, Antony… we are really happy because if you put players on loan you want them to perform.”
But Rashford is still expected to leave Old Trafford this summer with Aston Villa confirming his departure on Monday and ending any speculation that they could trigger the £40m option for the England international.
And reports in Spain claim that Rashford is ‘closer to Barca after being sacked’ by Aston Villa and ‘remains on the agenda’ at the Catalan giants.
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Rashford, who is also attracting interest from Bayern Munich, could now ‘arrive for a reasonable price’ at Barcelona with Man Utd making ‘it very clear that they have no room in their plans for the English star’.
His departure from Aston Villa ‘once again opens the door for him to end up at Camp Nou’ with the Man Utd forward ‘still dreaming of joining’ Barcelona.
But Barcelona boss Hansi Flick ‘does not approve’ of the England international’s arrival – despite Deco’s admission that the La Liga side were considering him – and it ‘makes Rashford’s arrival extremely difficult’.
Amid rumours he could end up at Barcelona, Man Utd academy graduate Demetri Mitchell reckons Rashford would be a Gareth Bale ‘regen’ if he ended up playing in La Liga.
Mitchell wrote on X: ‘Rashford in La Liga would be frightening when he gets back to his best, could be like a Bale Regen.’
Another former team-mate of Rashford’s, Timothy Fosu-Mensah is hopeful that the Man Utd forward can be “happy” wherever he ends up next season.
Fosu-Mensah told The Independent: “I just want him to be happy. Everybody just wants him to be happy. The most important things is for him to feel good, for him to feel happy. Look, the quality is definitely there. Nobody needs to say anything about this quality, because he’s a top player.”
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