Barcelona offer Man Utd two stars to reduce £26m Rashford clause ahead of summer deal | OneFootball

Barcelona have offered two players to Man Utd in exchange for Marcus Rashford as they look to reduce their buyout clause, according to reports.

The Red Devils allowed Rashford to leave for the Camp Nou on a temporary deal until the end of the season, although the Catalan giants have a €30m (£26m) option at the end of the deal.

Rashford fell out with previous manager Ruben Amorim and was sent out on loan for the last six months of last season to Aston Villa before Barcelona took a chance on him in the summer.

The Man Utd loanee has been largely performing well when called upon by Barcelona with Rashford cointributing nine goals and nine assists in 31 matches in all competitions.

There were rumours that new Man Utd interim head coach Michael Carrick wants Rashford to return to Old Trafford but that speculation has now been dismissed.

Instead, it’s expected that Barcelona will work out a way to bring the England international to the Camp Nou with the main doubts over whether they can afford the transfer fee and his wages.

And a report in Spain has now claimed that Barcelona president Joan Laporta and sporting director Deco ‘are convinced they made the right decision in signing him’ and the Catalan giants ‘are already making moves to secure the 28-year-old striker permanently’.

Barcelona are looking to ‘avoid paying’ the £26m clause and are instead offering players to Man Utd in order to see if they can get the fee reduced or removed completely.

The report adds that ‘the first name they’ve put forward is Ronald Araujo’ – who is valued at around €40m – and Barcelona ‘would be content with a simple player swap’ for Rashford.

The La Liga giants are also ‘willing to do without’ Marc Casado in exchange for the Man Utd loan star and ‘would include’ the Spaniard, who the Red Devils have shown interest in before.

Speaking in mid-January before Carrick was appointed, former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy insisted that Rashford is “too far gone” to return to Man Utd.

Murphy told BoyleSports: “I don’t think Michael Carrick, or whoever gets the job, will be able to influence the club to change their approach on Marcus Rashford. I think he’s had his chances and opportunities. Also, the fanbase has generally turned on him a little bit. I think he’s too far gone. Even if he doesn’t get the Barcelona move, a move somewhere else will benefit him.”

Murphy added: “He looks like he’s playing with freedom. I even saw him come off the bench against Real Madrid, and he looked so sharp, expressing himself and appearing like a different player. I think his days at United are over, regardless of who is in charge.”