Man Utd could face a delay in AC Milan’s interest in Marcus Rashford after Noah Okafor failed a medical at RB Leipzig, according to reports.

Rashford made it clear last month that he is ready for a “new challenge” away from Old Trafford after failing to hit good form over the last 18 months.

The England international was left out of the squad for the Manchester Derby by Ruben Amorim before Rashford announced in an interview with journalist Henry Winter that he is likely to leave Man Utd.

Despite coming back into the squad for the 2-0 loss to Newcastle on December 30, Rashford has not played a single minute since the Red Devils beat Viktoria Plzen on December 12.

A report four days ago insisted that Milan were pushing for Okafor to join Bundesliga side Leipzig in January ‘to allow them to go all in for Rashford’.

Transfer Fabrizio Romano wrote on X over the weekend:  ‘EXCL: RB Leipzig and AC Milan have agreed on loan deal for Noah Okafor plus buy option clause worth over €25m.

‘Loan with salary covered by Leipzig, buy option clause not mandatory — around €25/28m based on several factors. Travel and medical scheduled tomorrow.’

But now Sky Germany reporter Philipp Hinze has revealed that RB Leipzig have ‘cancelled the transfer’ after the results of his medical showed that Okafor is “not ready for action”.

Hinze wrote on X: ‘Exclusive: RB Leipzig have stopped the Okafor transfer! The results of the medical check showed that Okafor is not an immediate help. The Swiss player is not ready for action. As a result, Leipzig have cancelled the transfer. Okafor will not move to Leipzig! Deal collapsed.’

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The news comes a day after Sky Sports reported that AC Milan are ‘expected to formally approach’ Man Utd ‘over the signing’ of Rashford.

Sky Sports added:

‘Milan adviser – and Rashford’s former team-mate – Zlatan Ibrahimovic has spoken publicly about wanting to speak to Rashford about a move.

‘Borussia Dortmund are also interested in the player but it is thought a move could prove too problematic for them due to the wages. However, United have maintained a positive relationship with Dortmund having loaned Jadon Sancho to them last season.

‘Sancho’s move worked for all parties – he performed well for Dortmund and it is understood United recovered all of his wages during his spell there.

‘Rashford’s camp have spoken to a number of European clubs to explore the conditions of a deal. As it stands, it is believed United’s preference remains a straight loan, if they are to allow him to leave.’

Chelsea have two teenage South American forwards lined up, Tottenham will welcome a new giant centre-half soon and Dortmund have a summer 2026 deal sorted.

The 2025 January transfer window is fun and all, but teams are using the opportunity to pre-arrange transfers years in advance now to steal a march on their rivals.

Chelsea are chief among them but plenty of other sides are indulging in the practice. These are the upcoming transfers sorted for future windows involving clubs in the top six European leagues.

Summer 2025

Estevao Willian (Palmeiras to Chelsea, £29m rising to £51m)
There are more obviously silly numbers involved – 19 goals ad 12 assists in 50 games this past season is daft – but a 17-year-old signing what is expected to be at the very least a seven-year contract to join a club littered with equally young and similarly gifted forwards should not be overlooked. Mauricio Pochettino played an important role in Estevao’s capture and it will be interesting to see whether Enzo Maresca can last long enough to at least oversee his first steps at Stamford Bridge.

Nicolas Gonzalez (Fiorentina to Juventus, £27.7m)
Once the subject of interest from Brighton and Spurs as well as a club-record Brentford bid, Gonzalez’s big move was a little different when it finally arrived. A season-long loan at Juventus contains what many have called an obligation to buy but is actually an option the club themselves have described as ‘subject to the achievement of certain sporting objective during the season 2024/2025’. Twelve games, seven starts and three goals for a team in Champions League qualification contention should really be enough.

Gabriel Carvalho (Internacional to Al-Qadsiah, £18.5m)
There is absolutely nothing more Modern Football than a Saudi club pre-signing a South American forward and Premier League target in a move which will go through when he turns 18 in the summer.

Kendry Paez (Independiente del Valle to Chelsea, £17.2m)
There is substantially less Chelsea hype surrounding Paez but his future move further underlines their commitment to pursuing the best young players in world football, with South America the current hotbed.

Manu Kone (Gladbach to Roma, £15.1m)
Remember when he was supposed to be one of the answers to Liverpool’s midfield problems? Kone has instead ended up in another of those temporary loans with an obligation to buy dependent upon certain clauses, which are almost certain to be activated as he is a regular Roma starter.

Michele Di Gregorio (Monza to Juventus, £12m)
A gold star to the accountancy team at Juventus, who might well have forgotten by now that they set a ticking timebomb to go off next summer with a series of delicate loans and obligations and such.

Luka Vuskovic (Hajduk Split to Tottenham, £12m)
Seven months after making his senior debut as the youngest player to feature in the Croatian top flight, Vuskovic was snapped up by a Tottenham side declaring dibs almost two years in advance. The 6ft 4ins 17-year-old is spending his final season before moving to north London permanently on loan in a Belgian relegation battle as Westerlo’s joint top scorer.

Ismail Jakobs (Monaco to Galatasaray, £6.7m)
Galatasaray themselves have called it a ‘mandatory purchase option’ and the left-back’s minor role in another unstoppable title charges does nothing to change that.

Summer 2026

Justin Lerma (Independiente del Valle to Borussia Dortmund, £8.4m)
The Independiente factory continues to churn out potential gems for their European counterparts to poach and polish and few teams are bettered equipped in that regard than Dortmund, who bagsied midfielder Lerma ready for after his 18th birthday when his career consisted of just 65 first-team minutes.

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According to reports, former Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo has ‘accepted an offer’ to renew his contract with Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr.

Ronaldo left Man Utd at the end of 2022 as his contract was terminated by mutual agreement after he butted heads with head coach Erik ten Hag.

The 39-year-old scored 18 goals in 30 Premier League games in the 2021/22 season for Man Utd, but he slipped in the pecking order following the appointment of Ten Hag, who preferred to select younger alternatives.

This did not sit well with Ronaldo, who spat his dummy out and burnt bridges en route to leaving the Premier League giants.

Ronaldo was also unhappy after United failed to qualify for the Champions League, but he snubbed interest from Europe to join Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Nassr.

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Ronaldo has 75 goals and 18 assists in his 84 appearances for Al-Nassr, who are currently third in the Saudi Pro League.

The former Man Utd star has been linked with an exit in recent weeks as his current contract is due to expire at the end of this season.

Earlier this month, a report claimed Ronaldo has ‘offered himself’ to Chelsea as he eyes a return to Europe, while he’s reportedly ‘requested a reunion’ with Man Utd star Casemiro to remain at Al-Nassr beyond this summer.

However, a report in the Middle East claims Ronaldo has ‘accepted an offer’ to renew his contract until 2026 as he’s set to ‘receive £168m’ (around 200 million euros).

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Man Utd star Bruno Fernandes has explained why he thinks Ronaldo will play for Portugal beyond the 2026 World Cup.

“I not only believe, but I’m almost certain that he’ll be there [at the 2026 World Cup],” Fernandes said.

“It would be great if Cristiano Ronaldo fulfilled his dream of winning the World Cup with the national team, not only for him, but for us Portuguese people. We really want to give that to our country.

“For him, as the ultimate reference in our football, it would be the best way to end.

“Even if he won the World Cup, I don’t know if he would like to stop or go a little further. There are always things to improve and learn. You can see that in Cristiano, who wants to do more every year, wants to be better.

“For those who still have doubts, he does more and more. For us, the most important thing is to go to the World Cup and win. It’s the dream of all of us, of Cristiano Ronaldo’s fans and of our country.”

According to reports, Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford has been handed a transfer boost amid interest from Serie A giants AC Milan.

Rashford has attracted interest from AC Milan after he announced that he’s “ready” for a new challenge away from Man Utd. He could soon join our list of the 20 biggest January transfers.

The Red Devils star has been blasted for his poor performances over the past 18 months as he’s massively declined since scoring 30 goals during the 2022/23 campaign.

It was hoped that the appointment of Ruben Amorim would boost Rashford, but his struggles have continued and it is the right time for him to move elsewhere.

AC Milan are among the leading contenders to sign Rashford, but they are also interested in Manchester City defender Kyle Walker, who is also expected to leave the Premier League this month.

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Serie A rules permit AC Milan from signing the two England internationals this month, but a report from Sky in Italy claims their ‘preference’ is Rashford over Walker.

‘Rashford is Milan’s priority over Kyle Walker in the January transfer window, according to Sky in Italy.

Pep Guardiola confirmed over the weekend that Walker and his representatives are “exploring” his options after informing outgoing sporting director Txiki Begiristain that he wants to move abroad.

‘According to Sky in Italy, AC Milan sounded out the defender some time ago in case Fikayo Tomori left the club, but his transfer was blocked by the arrival of new manager Sergio Conceicao

‘It remains to be seen whether this time could be different and whether the Rossoneri will try to land his signature with Bayern Munich having also been interested in the past.’

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Sky Sports are also reporting that the Serie A giants are ‘expected to make a formal approach’ to sign Rashford.

‘AC Milan are expected to formally approach Manchester United over the signing of forward Marcus Rashford.

‘Borussia Dortmund are also interested in the player but it is thought a move could prove too problematic for them due to the wages. However, United have maintained a positive relationship with Dortmund having loaned Jadon Sancho to them last season.

‘Sancho’s move worked for all parties – he performed well for Dortmund and it is understood United recovered all of his wages during his spell there.

‘Rashford’s camp have spoken to a number of European clubs to explore the conditions of a deal. As it stands, it is believed United’s preference remains a straight loan, if they are to allow him to leave.

‘While United accept they will have to pay a substantial portion of Rashford’s wages, they will look into incentivising the structure to ensure the deal works for them.’