Barcelona are reportedly ‘working’ on a deal to sign Manchester United outcast Marcus Rashford in the summer transfer window – and could sell Raphinha to make it happen.
The winger was sent out on loan to Aston Villa in January after he was shunned by new manager Ruben Amorim, but rediscovered his form at the Midlands outfit.
The 27-year-old displaced Ollie Watkins as the starting forward, helping Unai Emery’s side reach the Champions League quarter-finals and the last four of the FA Cup.
Unfortunately for Rashford and Villa, his season may have been ended prematurely by a hamstring injury, although there is hope he could return for their final couple of games in the Premier League.
Barcelona in Rashford transfer talks as Raphinha exit mooted
Barcelona, who have long been admirers of the England international, are seemingly impressed with how he has bounced back in the second half of the campaign, with Sky Sport Switzerland claiming they are in talks over a possible deal.
The report says that Rashford’s agent, Pini Zahavi, is coordinating with Barça president Joan Laporta to ‘facilitate’ his arrival in the next transfer window.
Negotiations on personal terms have ‘already begun’ and Rashford has ‘expressed his desire’ to join the Catalan club, while Villa have ‘no intention’ of keeping him beyond this season.
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Man Utd are said to have priced Rashford at around €35 million (£29.6m), an amount Barcelona are ‘not ready to spend’ at the moment. They are, however, ‘currently working on the departure of several attacking players’, including Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha.
It would be an extraordinarily odd move for Barcelona to replace one of their star men at his peak with an injury-prone player who goes through long periods of poor form. But then again, there is little sense to be found in their transfer strategy in recent years.
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