Zlatan Ibrahimovic does not need to “convince” Man Utd forward Marcus Rashford to join “one of the biggest clubs in the world” in AC Milan.
Rashford is expected to leave the Red Devils this month and is attracting interest from a host of European giants.
A loan departure is the most likely outcome after Man Utd reportedly want £50million for their academy graduate.
He has not featured under Ruben Amorim since December 12 against Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League, when he probably played his final match for his boyhood club.
New head coach Amorim has not been impressed by Rashford’s conduct off the pitch and performances on it, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe more than happy to shift the player’s whopping £325,000-a-week salary.
Milan are among the clubs interested in signing the 27-year-old in the January transfer window, though Barcelona, Juventus, Napoli, Borussia Dortmund, AS Monaco and clubs in Saudi Arabia are also keen.
Rashford has reportedly already turned down a move to the Middle East as he targets a return to the England squad under Thomas Tuchel, who officially took over as Gareth Southgate’s replacement on New Year’s Day.
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Some reports have claimed that Rashford’s representatives have been in Italy to discuss terms with Milan, but the club’s sporting advisor Ibrahimovic has denied this is the case.
The former Man Utd striker has hinted that talks could commence with his old team-mate, however.
“I know Rashford very well, I played with him when he was young, now he’s a grown-up and has done great things with Manchester United,” Ibrahimovic said.
“I don’t think I need to convince him, because Milan are one of the biggest clubs in the world and everyone wants to come here.
“As of today, it is not an easy operation, but we have not spoken to him yet. We’ll see if we will speak to him.”
Man Utd face Arsenal in the FA Cup third round on Sunday and the chances of Rashford being involved appear very slim.
A report from Manchester Evening News says Amorim is expected to field a strong team at the Emirates in a bid to earn a first win in five matches, but Rashford does not look like he will be involved.
It has not been confirmed but the England attacker ‘was not among the Manchester United players pictured leaving for the weekend FA Cup tie with Arsenal’.
The report claims Altay Bayindir will replace Andre Onana in goal, while young midfielder Toby Collyer has travelled.
Rashford’s first matchday squad omission came for the Manchester derby on December 15. He did return for a Premier League match against Newcastle United 15 days later but was an unused substitute.
His absence from last Sunday’s squad to face Liverpool at Anfield came down to illness, Amorim claimed.
Arsenal are actually one of the teams Rashford has been linked with. While Mikel Arteta could do with more firepower up front, that transfer feels extremely unlikely.
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