According to reports, Marcus Rashford leaving Manchester United to join FC Barcelona permanently hinges on one condition amid ‘sending home’ claims.
Rashford joined Barcelona on loan with an option to buy during this summer’s transfer window.
With that, Rashford secured his dream transfer after Barcelona opted against a move for the England international at the start of this year.
The 27-year-old decided to leave Man Utd ahead of the winter transfer window as he felt it was time for a fresh start after falling out with head coach Ruben Amorim.
Rashford’s poor form and huge salary prevented a move to Barcelona or another European giant, so he settled on a loan move to Aston Villa in January.
His decision to join Aston Villa paid off as he grabbed four goals and six assists for Unai Emery’s side to catch the attention of Barcelona.
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Barcelona turned to Rashford after missing out on Luis Diaz and Nico Williams, as they were in the market for an attacker to provide competition to Raphinha and Lamine Yamal.
Rashford’s versatility worked in his favour as Barcelona searched for an alternative to Diaz and Williams, but he is yet to grab a goal or an assist in three La Liga matches.
This has fuelled speculation that Barcelona are ‘considering sending him home’, though Spanish football expert Guillem Balague has shut down these claims.
Balague said on X: ‘Absolutely rubbish that Barcelona is planning to end up early @MarcusRashford loan deal.
‘Barça told his representative that they have a lot of confidence in Rashford’s potential and that they believe he will recover as a top player
‘No more to say, apart from the fact I agree with Gary Lineker and his treatment by some media.’
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Now, Football Insider reporter Pete O’Rourke has backed Barcelona and Man Utd to ‘agree a bargain transfer’ over Rashford if he gets “back firing again”.
“Rashford has got all the season to prove himself at Barcelona, but it’s been a difficult start for him,” O’Rourke told Football Insider.
“Look, they’ve had a number of injury issues at Barcelona as well, so Rashford might feature more regularly for them over the next few weeks.
“I’m sure he will play a key role for Flick’s side because they’ve got so many games and so many competitions and the Champions League starting next week.
“We’ll see if he’s involved in that game against Newcastle, that could be another chance for him to impress against an English side.
“There’s a buy option in his loan deal of around £30million, so if Barcelona can get Rashford back firing again, that price tag could be an absolute bargain.”