Barcelona are reportedly keeping tabs on Lyon’s in-demand Malick Fofana as an alternative to making Marcus Rashford’s loan move permanent next summer.
The Belgium international was the darling of the transfer gossip columns throughout the most recent window after enjoying a breakout campaign in France’s top flight. The jet-heeled, jinking forward was widely touted to make a move to the Premier League, with Chelsea and Liverpool both vying for his signature, only to choose to stay at Lyon.
“There was interest from those two clubs, but ultimately it wasn’t concrete enough,” Fofana revealed to HBVL earlier this year. “I’ve thought about a transfer, but now I think it’s more important that I play a lot, and that has to happen at Lyon. Because I still have progress to make.”
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Fofana’s upward trajectory has been temporarily halted by an ankle sprain which could keep him out for several months, yet the 20-year-old still remains on the radar of Europe’s elite.
Malick Fofana celebrating.
Malick Fofana is one of Lyon’s most exciting young forwards. / Alex Martin/AFP/Getty Images
Barcelona are the latest side to consider an approach for the left winger, per SPORT. The reigning Spanish champions have already reportedly engaged in negotiations with Fofana’s representatives and are thought to be confident of securing a cut-price deal for the forward given Lyon’s well-documented financial difficulties; the French club were almost relegated at the end of last season due to economic irregularities.
Money issues are never far from Barcelona themselves. The La Liga side are said to be keen on keeping Rashford but it remains to be seen whether they will have the necessary funds to make his loan from Manchester United permanent by triggering the €30 million (£26.1 million, $34.8 million) release clause in his contract.
Marcus Rashford
Marcus Rashford scored in Barcelona’s win at the weekend. / Alex Caparros/Getty Images
“I don’t focus on the media,” Fofana said earlier this season. “I just do what I love: dribbling and scoring.” Unfortunately for him, there hasn’t been much of either this season.
Before he was struck down with that nasty ankle issue at the end of October, Fofana had mustered a grand total of two goals and was yet to provide an assist since the opening weekend of the season. However, his underlying numbers suggest that he was getting into promising goalscoring opportunities while also creating plenty of chances for his teammates only for a lack of clinical edge to expose itself.
Rashford has not suffered the same wayward fate. Hansi Flick and Thomas Tuchel may still be demanding more direct goal contributions, but the England international is averaging either a goal or an assist every 87 minutes for Barcelona thus far this season. No one in La Liga has created more goals than the United loanee (six).
As Fofana is keen to point out, his game is defined by dribbling as much as scoring. The confident forward is frequently compared to Manchester City’s Jérémy Doku and reckons that he comes out on top in that head-to-head with his compatriot. “Maybe Jérémy is faster in the first metres, but I’ll be faster at the end of the sprint,” he smiled. “Just ask Doku; he’ll probably admit that.”
Quite how Rashford’s pace compares remains to be seen, but the Barcelona forward has been far more successful at dribbling past his opponents than Fofana of late. There appears to be a reason why the Lyon forward represents the cheaper option.
Stat (2025–26 All Comps) Malick Fofana Marcus Rashford
Games 12 16
Goals 2 6
Assists 1 7
xG per 90 0.33 0.31
xA per 90 0.27 0.33
Shots per 90 2.4 4.5
Dribbles per 90 3.1 5.0
Stats viaFBref. Correct as of Nov. 10, 2025.
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