**Marcus Rashford's Manchester United return has been pencilled in after his loan spell with Barcelona expired and the club did take up the option to sign him permanently.**
[Rashford](https://www.sportbible.com/marcus-rashford) won La Liga with the Blaugrana, scoring 14 goals in all competitions. However, his stay in Catalonia was short-lived as the club elected against signing him for a set fee and instead snapped up his England teammate Anthony Gordon.
As a result, Rashford is now set to return to boyhood club United for pre-season and will be welcomed back into the fold by Michael Carrick.
According to [Simon Stone](https://x.com/UtdDistrict/status/2084894452141727932) from the BBC, Rashford will be part of United's training camp in the Republic of Ireland when he returns from a break following on from England's run to the World Cup semi-finals.
United have been in Scandinavia for pre-season, with games in Finland, Norway and Sweden. Next up is an all-Premier League clash with Leeds United at Croke Park, which could come too soon for Rashford.
But he may well be in contention to feature in another friendly against AC Milan at the Tarczynski Arena, in Wroclaw, Poland on Saturday 15 August.
Milan are of course now managed by former United boss Ruben Amorim, who froze Rashford out at Old Trafford and placed him in his 'bomb squad'.
After being dropped for the Manchester derby in December 2024, Rashford was left out in the cold after Amorim said he "doesn't give the maximum every day".
Having said he was "ready for a new challenge", Rashford joined Aston Villa on loan before spending a successful season in Barcelona.
The 28-year-old was vocal in expressing his desire in continuing with Barcelona, only for circumstances to prevent a permanent switch.
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