Man Utd ‘ask’ for Barcelona star in return for Rashford as fee dramatically lowers to £8.6m | OneFootball

Man Utd may have found a way to satisfy all parties by asking for a Barcelona player in exchange for Marcus Rashford, according to reports.

The Red Devils allowed Rashford to leave Old Trafford in the summer transfer window on a season-long deal to the Catalan giants.

Permission came after the England international had spent the second half of the 2024/25 campaign on loan at Aston Villa following a fall-out with Ruben Amorim, who was sacked in January.

Man Utd academy product Rashford has enjoyed a fairly successful spell at Barcelona this term, although he has had to be patient at times with Hansi Flick using him as a rotation player.

21 of his 38 appearances this season have been from the start with Rashford contributing ten goals and nine assists in his first season at the club.

Barcelona are reportedly keen to keep him next season with Rashford having a €30m (£26m) buyout clause in his loan deal from Man Utd.

There have been rumours that the La Liga side could struggle to pay that fee and Rashford’s high salary, although a deal between the player and Barcelona is understood to be close.

It has been claimed that Barcelona sporting director Deco has been asking to renegotiate the fee, while the former attacking midfielder has also opened up the possibility of a second loan move next year.

Man Utd are not interested in lowering the fee or renegotiating with previous reports claiming that the Red Devils hierachy now value Rashford at closer to £50m.

But there could be a way to make a breakthrough ahead of the summer with reports in Spain claiming that Man Utd have ‘asked’ for Barcelona defensive midfielder Marc Casado in exchange for Rashford.

Rashford ‘has ultimately won over the coaching staff’ and the Barcelona transfer team are ‘exploring the possibility of lowering that amount when the time comes to decide his future in the summer’.

Man Utd have ‘no intention of lowering the price’ and have instead ‘proposed an alternative’ with the Red Devils ‘willing to consider a reduction in the total cost of the transfer, but only if a player of interest to them is included in the negotiations’.

The Premier League side ‘value’ Casado’s profile and ‘would welcome him as part of the deal if Barcelona wants to reduce the transfer fee for Rashford’.

It is claimed that the ‘formula that has been put on the table is Casado plus around €10m (£8.6m)’ and it is now down to Barcelona to ‘decide whether to accept the exchange.’