Man Utd have asked Barcelona for a specific player in exchange for Marcus Rashford in order to complete a transfer this summer, according to reports.
The Red Devils allowed Rashford to leave on loan to Aston Villa at the end of the January transfer window after his relationship with Ruben Amorim broke down.
Man Utd boss Amorim played Rashford for the last time on December 12 against Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League being leaving him out of every match until his eventual departure.
Since joining Aston Villa in the winter transfer window, Rashford has been in brilliant form and has no doubt convinced the Villans to sign him in the summer if they can justify the outlay.
But Unai Emery admitted, after Rashford produced a brilliant performance in a recent Champions League clash against Paris Saint-Germain, that it will be “difficult” for Aston Villa to sign him permanently.
Emery said at the end of April: “It (signing him in the summer) is difficult to plan now. He’s feeling comfortable and better. He played a fantastic match.’
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“If he’s happy, we are happy. Then, of course, it depends on the circumstances and what happens in the next weeks, and (what we have) in the next year as well.”
At the end of April it was revealed that it was now ‘highly likely’ that Rashford would miss the rest of the season at Aston Villa and the summer transfer speculation started in earnest.
Barcelona have been linked multiple times recently with Rashford ‘given the green light’ to pursue a move to Barcelona this summer as Man Utd are keen to offload the England international.
And now reports in Spain claim that Man Utd have ‘asked’ for Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo in exchange for Rashford with the Red Devils previously ‘willing to put an offer of more than €60 million on the table’ for a straight transfer.
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The Catalan giants ‘could close a swap deal’ with Man Utd with Rashford ‘back on Barca’s radar’ after proving that ‘he’s still a top-level star’.
It is understood that ‘the option that has gained traction is to finalise a swap deal in which Ronald Araujo would be the other player, although he is not in the plans.’
Whether in a swap deal for Rashford or not, the Uruguay international’s ‘departure is all but confirmed when the transfer window opens’.
The report adds that Premier League giants Man Utd ‘still appears to be interested in taking him on, as they did in the past, when they even submitted a formal offer.’
Earlier this month, Barcelona sporting director Deco admitted that the Catalan giants were missing strength in the wide areas of their side, something which Rashford could provide.
Deco said: “If we can improve, that’s always an option, but the key is to consolidate what we have for the coming years.
“Suddenly we feel quite dependent on Raphinha and Lamine. Maybe we need similar players, a solution for them [when they’re not available],” the Portuguese confessed.
“But the squad is quite balanced and we have a lot of good players coming through the youth teams as well.”
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