Man Utd, Arsenal could complete winger swap involving Rashford after Arteta approves move | OneFootball

Manchester United and Arsenal could complete a mutually beneficial winger swap involving Marcus Rashford, according to reports.

Rashford’s dream of re-signing for Barcelona looks to have crumbled, with Fabrizio Romano among those confirming the LaLiga champions won’t activate their €30m / £26m option to buy.

That clause expires in four days, and Barcelona have already determined they’ll take a pass.

Rashford is thus poised to return to Old Trafford, though Man Utd have no intention of reintegrating him into the mix.

The Red Devils are desperate to get his sky high £325,000-a-week wages off the books. A sale is the clear preference, with reports claiming Bayern Munich are ready to offer €40m / £34.5m now the winger is back on the open market.

However, our colleagues over on TEAMtalk brought news on Thursday of Rashford being offered to two teams much closer to home.

Their insider, Graeme Bailey, revealed Arsenal and Chelsea have been contacted regarding moves for Rashford.

For now, Bailey stressed the contact is exploratory, and given Rashford’s permanent switch to Barcelona has only just collapsed, no one team are close to snapping the England international up.

Nevertheless, the Gunners are in the market for a new winger, with The Athletic recently claiming decisions will soon be made on Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli.

That was quickly followed by talkSPORT emphatically declaring Mikel Arteta has got ‘ruthless’ and determined Martinelli must go. As such, the Brazilian is now reportedly up for sale.

Arsenal, Man Utd could swap Gabriel Martinelli, Marcus Rashford

And according to an update from The Sun, Man Utd and Arsenal could remedy each other’s woes by completing a mutually beneficial swap that would see Rashford move to the Emirates and Martinelli arrive at Old Trafford.

They stated: ‘Marcus Rashford’s future remains up in the air after reports suggested Barcelona will not trigger their £26million option to sign the Manchester United forward permanently.

‘That could open the door for Arsenal, who are still in the market for a left-winger amid uncertainty surrounding Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard.

‘If Martinelli were to leave north London this summer, Arsenal could even explore using the Brazilian as part of a deal for Rashford.

‘The move would draw comparisons with the Alexis Sanchez and Henrikh Mkhitaryan swap between the two clubs back in January 2018.’

If this extraordinary winger swap were to cross the line, there is a case to be made for it greatly benefitting both sides.

In Rashford, Arsenal would be landing a more explosive and potent player than Martinelli who can make an instant impact at a team looking to win the game’s biggest prizes right here and now.

Man Utd, meanwhile, would get a talented winger in Martinelli who is four years younger, who could still improve during his prime years later this decade, and who would be on far lower wages than Rashford’s £325,000-a-week salary.