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Barcelona might not to take up Marcus Rashford’s permanent transfer clause with Man United reported to be considering using the England forward as a swap deal makeweight.
Currently just a point outside the automatic places, there is no reason why this shouldn’t be a realistic target. January will also see more new faces arrive at Old Trafford with the hope being that they can take the club to the next level and continue the recovery to where they should be.
Man United consider Marcus Rashford swap deal
One such player who has been linked is Paris Saint Germain’s Bradley Barcola with a report suggesting that Marcus Rashford could be used as part of a swap deal to bring the 23-year old to the Premier League. With five goals and five assists this season, the left winger hasn’t been prolific, but with just 1,400 minutes played, this tally becomes more respectable in terns of goals and assists per 90 minutes.
According to Le10Sport, PSG chief Luis Campos ‘officially began discussions with Barcola’s camp weeks ago’. The France international has been offered a ‘significant salary increase’ as part of the new deal in the hope that he will extend his stay in Ligue 1, rewarding his progress since signing from Lyon.
Barcola and his representatives are considering their options with the player assessing his importance under Luis Enrique and how often he is playing, the rotation policy of the Spaniard being one of the reasons why pen hasn’t already been put to paper. The report adds that Premier League clubs are ‘increasingly active’ as doubts over Barcola’s committment continue to grow.
Barcola red flag that should worry United recruitment team
There is no doubt about Barcola’s talent and natural ability and using DataMB’s statistics model, he performs favourably across key metrics like dribbling, passing, crossing and goal scoring.
There is one red flag though. In terms of league minutes, Barcola’s assists column doesn’t look good for a wide player tasked with creating chances for others.
Radar image comparing PSG's Bradley Barcola (blue) and Yan Diomande (red) using 2025/26 statistics.placeholder image
Radar image comparing PSG's Bradley Barcola (blue) and Yan Diomande (red) using 2025/26 statistics. | Data MB.
If United want a forward who can do it all and are willing to break the bank, it isn’t Barcola or Antoine Semenyo that they should be targeting, it is RB Leipzig’s Yan Diomande, who has every big club in Europe courting his signature and who is just as capable of creating chances as he is of finishing them himself.
Between these technical qualities and his lightning pace, the “new Erling Haaland” should be the player who Jason Wilcox digs deep for.
The 19-year old isn’t just rapid, he is comfortable on either foot and has seven goals and four assists in 15 appearances after a hat-trick on his last outing for Leipzig. In terms of price tag, there is an £87m release clause, but he is six years younger than Semenyo and four younger than Barcola.
The extra £20m would be worth every penny for a player who is being considered a generational talent already.
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