Marcus Rashford is primed for a January departure from Manchester United and despite recent conversations with Barcelona, AC Milan are closest to cracking a deal, according to reports.
The 27-year-old has fallen out of favour at Old Trafford under Ruben Amorim, and looks set to head out on loan for the rest of the season.
A host of top European clubs have been linked with his signature, but La Gazzetta dello Sport claims that he is “getting closer to Milan”.
The Italian newspaper notes that Rashford has “already expressed to the Rossoneri his approval of a transfer to Serie A”, and claims that he prefers this league to the German Bundesliga.
This claim is presumably made to play down links with Borussia Dortmund, who are said to have joined the flock of admirers of the English forward.
The report continues that any deal for the player would likely be a simple loan without any option or obligation to buy at the end of the season.
This means that wages become the main sticking point, and Rashford’s salary is notoriously gigantic.
Gazzetta are clear that United would have to continue to pay part of his wages to make any deal possible, as his reported £15m salary is “absolutely out of reach not only of Milan, but also of all the Italian clubs.”
This, the report states, is why the Red Devils are “eager to broaden the range of teams interested in their player”, and this broadened range is perhaps why Barcelona have entered the frame.
Nevertheless, the La Liga giants are mired in financial difficulties of their own while Milan have “more room for manoeuvre, having their accounts in order.”
Not only this, but Gazzetta believe that the “charm of a fashionable city like Milan” would appeal to Rashford, and that England teammate Fikayo Tomori has given him “good references”.
And to complete the pretty picture, they explain that Zlatan Ibrahimovic will “vouch for him” given his “sometimes over-the-top behaviour”.
The Swedish legend knows Rashford well from his time at Old Trafford, where he scored 29 goals in 53 games.
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Joe Ponting
Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried.
