Borussia Dortmund are “currently not hopeful” of signing Marcus Rashford but view the pressure of the impending February 3 deadline as a “potential opportunity” to strike a deal with Manchester United, despite Barcelona’s continued interest in the English forward.
Rashford, 27, has not featured for the Red Devils since his explosive interview declaring his wish for a “new challenge” away from Old Trafford, after being dropped by Ruben Amorim for the Manchester Derby.
United are open to the academy graduate’s departure this month with acceptance that a loan is the only realistic move, due to 27-year-old’s exorbitant wage packet and poor form.
AC Milan had emerged as an early frontrunner for Rashford with the player’s brother and agent travelling to Italy to negotiate a deal. However, the Serie A side have confirmed the loan of Manchester City fullback Kyle Walker, thus ruling out the possibility of a deal for another English player this month.
Barcelona are also interested in loaning Rashford with the 27-year-old reported to prefer a move to Camp Nou out of all remaining suitors, including Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham.
However, the Spanish giant are restricted financially and unable to generate the funds required to sign Rashford without first selling. One potential option to facilitate this had been the departure of Eric Garcia, but The Athletic report the defender is “going nowhere” after Hansi Flick intervened to prevent his sale.
Dortmund were another side who expressed a strong interest in Rashford, with the potential of a deal being struck to the one which saw Jadon Sancho re-join Die Schwarzgelben last year in a similar scenario to his former teammate.
However, the German club were unable to meet the financial demands involved without United agreeing to compromise further. This, combined with Rashford’s preference appearing to be Barcelona, has led to Dortmund officials being “currently not hopeful” of a deal, Florian Plettenberg (Sky Sports Germany) reveals.
🚨⚫️🟡 Borussia Dortmund are currently not hopeful of signing Marcus #Rashford, while FC Barcelona remain in the race.
However, #BVB see a potential opportunity if negotiations for Rashford continue to drag on and a chance arises closer to Deadline Day on February 3rd.
This… pic.twitter.com/T4ZYPVA2jY
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) January 23, 2025
Tweet: “Borussia Dortmund are currently not hopeful of signing Marcus #Rashford, while FC Barcelona remain in the race. However, #BVB see a potential opportunity if negotiations for Rashford continue to drag on and a chance arises closer to Deadline Day on February 3rd.
This would depend on Manchester United deciding to offload the player and the transfer package becoming more affordable.”
However, the ongoing difficulties Barcelona are facing in generating the funds to target Rashford presents an opportunity for Dortmund to exploit.
Plettenberg contends if “negotiations for Rashford continue to drag on” there may be a “potential opportunity” for the Bundesliga side to put the pressure on United to sanction a last-minute departure for the wantaway forward at a reduced price.
Rashford was spotted back in first-team training yesterday as Amorim put his players through their preparations for tonight’s Europa League match against Rangers. The timing of this reintroduction, with only ten days left of the January window, could suggest United are laying the groundwork for a path back from the exit door for the 27-year-old.
Equally, it could be something of a negotiating tactic to convince Barcelona and Dortmund to bid soon or run the risk of Rashford no longer being available to sign on loan.
Regardless, this remains a saga which looks set to run until the very end of the transfer window.
Featured image Stephen Pond via Getty Images
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Darragh Fox
Darragh is a writer for The Peoples Person who spent three years as a history graduate slowly realising football was by far the most interesting thing to write about.
