Gary Lineker explains how Marcus Rashford could land bombshell return to Old Trafford

Having just secured the La Liga title during his season-long loan at Barcelona, the upcoming summer transfer window could define the rest of Marcus Rashford’s career. Though there is a clause in his loan granting Barcelona the chance to sign him for just £26 million, it is currently unclear whether the Catalan giants are interested in keeping him at the club. Though other clubs will undoubtedly show interest in the England international should he return to his parent club, legendary striker Gary Lineker believes there is one figure at Manchester United who may be able to convince the speedy winger to return to Old Trafford permanently. A title-winning season Though he probably has not started as many games as he would have liked, Rashford has definitely made an impact during his time on sunnier shores. Across his 43 appearances for the iconic club, the knuckleball specialist has scored 13 goals and provided ten assists. Recently, he scored the first goal, a truly unstoppable free-kick, against fierce rivals Real Madrid to clinch the La Liga title with three matches to spare. Despite his heroics and impressive contributions to the team, not all Barcelona fans have taken to Rashford, which perhaps explains why there is believed to be some reluctance from Barcelona to sign the winger on a permanent basis. No shortage of suitors Since rumours broke that Barcelona may not keep Rashford at the club, a plethora of huge clubs have shown an interest in signing the United youth product. Arsenal, Newcastle, Tottenham Hotspur and Bayern Munich have all been linked with the goalscorer, who would certainly be a welcome addition of pace and flair within any of those squads. Despite having no shortage of options, prolific goalscorer and renowned pundit Gary Lineker believes the Englishman might yet have a future at Old Trafford. A return to United? Speaking on The Rest Is Football, former England international Lineker was hesitant to rule out Rashford featuring for the Red Devils once again. He believes his relationship with Michael Carrick, who has an impressive win rate at the helm of United, could be key to a return. “And if he doesn’t go, will he? I think there’ll be clubs looking to snap him up, to be perfectly honest, at that sort of price tag, considering what you get for your money nowadays, because I think it’d be difficult for him to go back to Manchester United.” he said. “Although I can see it, if with, you know, Michael Carrick, who I’m sure he respects and, you know, [Ruben] Amorim is not there anymore, who clearly, you know, they didn’t see eye to eye. “But so, you know, it’ll be interesting to see what happens there. A lot of star players, star performances this season for Barcelona.” Prime years to come No matter where Rashford ends up, Lineker is certain the winger’s best years are still ahead of him. He said: “He’s 28, Marcus, 29 [in] October. So, I think, I mean, he’s in his prime. And obviously, in my time, you’d have gone 28, 29, you’d have been slightly nervous about, you know, extending a long contract or something. “But I think nowadays, you know, the new 32 is 35, probably, at least with some players, a lot more. So, yeah, I think he’s still got some great years left in him. He’s certainly not been overplayed, like a lot of players. So that will be in his favour.” Whatever the future holds, Rashford has the ability to be a success at any club. Featured image Alex Caparros via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Mike Walsh Mike Walsh is an experienced freelance journalist who has written about a variety of topics over multiple years. He is very happy to finally be writing about the Red Devils, especially now that his favourite player, Michael Carrick, is in charge of the team.