Man Utd and Barcelona are currently ‘negotiating’ a swap deal involving wantaway forward Marcus Rashford, according to reports.
Reports emerged last week that the Red Devils are ready to sell Rashford for ‘top offers’ in the January transfer window after considering his sale in the summer too.
New Man Utd boss Ruben Amorim left Rashford and Garnacho out of his 20-man squad for their derby clash against arch-rivals Man City over their attitude.
And Rashford said in an interview on Tuesday that he is ready to leave Man Utd with the Red Devils forward looking for a “new challenge”.
Amorim seemed to play down Rashford’s comments at his press conference on Wednesday and insisted Man Utd are “better with” the England international.
But reports in Spain now claim that Barcelona and Man Utd are ‘negotiating a swap deal’ involving Rashford and Frenkie de Jong ahead of the January transfer window.
Man Utd are showing ‘great interest’ in Barcelona midfielder De Jong with the Netherlands international only starting two matches in all competitions this term under Hansi Flick.
The report describes De Jong as a ‘hot potato’ at the Camp Nou with the Catalan giants ‘working on finding a solution’ for their highest-paid player.
Erik ten Hag was keen on bringing the Dutchman to Man Utd during his tenure and now Amorim ‘still believes that he could be an interesting addition to the midfield’.
Amorim ‘wants’ Rashford ‘to leave’ and ‘he has been offered’ to Barcelona president Joan Laporta and sporting director Deco ‘as a bargaining chip’.
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BBC Sport chief football news reporter Simon Stone reckons Amorim has handled Rashford’s comments well and we ‘will know soon enough’ if the Man Utd forward is in his plans.
Stone wrote: ‘If Manchester United offered guidance on how not to create even more turmoil around an already delicate situation, Ruben Amorim has followed it.
‘We know enough of Amorim now to know he is not someone who will hold back just for the sake of it, so there is an element of reality about his observations that Marcus Rashford is a big talent – ‘and we need big talents’.
‘But this is also a case where actions will speak louder than words.
‘Amorim says he wants Rashford to stay. But also that players have to meet his standards. He says Rashford – and Alejandro Garnacho – will be assessed for selection on the training ground performances.
‘It is fair to assume therefore that if neither reaches the required standard, they will not travel to London for the EFL Cup tie at Tottenham – even if Rashford has shaken off the illness that prevented him from training on Monday.
‘After Tottenham, United have Premier League games against Bournemouth, Wolves and Newcastle.
‘We will know soon enough where Rashford fits in Amorim’s plans. If he fails to reach the standard his new boss demands, the 27-year-old will not feature.’
