Barcelona confident Man United will accept surprise solution to Marcus Rashford transfer issue | OneFootball

Barcelona are reportedly set to try for a second loan spell for Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford instead of signing him permanently this summer.

Rashford has impressed since joining Barca on loan from Man Utd this season, but it seems the Catalan giants are still unsure about paying his £26m asking price.

That’s according to a report from the Daily Mail, which states that Barcelona are confident they can persuade United to simply allow the England international to join them on loan again.

It’s slightly surprising that Barcelona aren’t prepared to spend a relatively low fee on making Rashford’s move permanent, and it also seems far from ideal from United’s point of view to miss out on a sale.

Still, the Mail suggests the La Liga club are optimistic they could do it, and MUFC may end up favouring this over trying to find another buyer for Rashford.

Marcus Rashford’s loan spell at Barcelona in numbers

Rashford looked far from at his best towards the end of his time at United, but he’s performed well at the Nou Camp even if he hasn’t always been an automatic starter.

The 28-year-old has a total of ten goals and nine assists in all competitions so far this season, which is a very decent return considering he’s only been named in Hansi Flick’s starting XI 21 times. In the Champions League this has translated to a goal every 97 minutes on average.

Rashford has often had to make do with a place on the bench, but he’s had a positive impact as a super sub in this Barca side, and his versatility also makes him a useful option in that kind of role, as he can be brought on as a winger or a striker depending on the situation.

As the graphic below shows, he’s clearly no Lamine Yamal or Raphinha, but it would surely make sense for Barcelona to try to keep him around for a bit longer if possible…

Marcus Rashford stats vs Lamine Yamal and Raphinha (DataMB)

Overall, there seems a very strong case for Barcelona keeping Rashford and perhaps even signing him permanently given how cheap he’d be.

Still, we know the club have had financial issues in recent times and that might be why they’re reluctant to commit to this transfer fee for now.