Man Utd forward Marcus Rashford is set to move to Barcelona in the summer transfer window after the clubs came to an agreement, according to reports.
The Red Devils allowed Rashford to leave on loan to Aston Villa at the end of the January transfer window after his relationship with Ruben Amorim broke down.
Man Utd boss Amorim played Rashford for the last time on December 12 against Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League being leaving him out of every match until his eventual departure.
Rashford put in a number of good performances during his loan spell at Aston Villa and the loan move at Villa Park gave him the platform to show his best form once again.
But Unai Emery admitted, after Rashford produced a brilliant performance in a Champions League clash against Paris Saint-Germain, that it would be “difficult” for Aston Villa to sign him permanently.
Emery said at the end of April: “It (signing him in the summer) is difficult to plan now. He’s feeling comfortable and better. He played a fantastic match.’
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“If he’s happy, we are happy. Then, of course, it depends on the circumstances and what happens in the next weeks, and (what we have) in the next year as well.”
After picking up an injury at the end of April, Rashford then missed the rest of the season at Villa and the summer transfer speculation started in earnest.
Barcelona have been linked multiple times recently with Rashford ‘given the green light’ to pursue a move to Barcelona this summer as Man Utd are keen to offload the England international.
The La Liga side’s sporting director Deco even admitted the club’s interest in Rashford earlier this month, he said: “We like Luis [Diaz] and we like Rashford.
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“However, we can’t talk about players who are under contract. For me, it’s much more important to improve what we have at home.”
It has been claimed that Man Utd are still demanding around £40m to see Rashford leave permanently this summer, which is the same amount that Villa had as a buy option in his loan deal.
But now reports in Spain claim that Barcelona ‘won’t pay a euro’ for Rashford this summer with the Catalan giants ‘in very advanced negotiations’ over a deal for the Man Utd forward.
The report describes the Man Utd asking price of £40m ‘truly affordable’ but reveals that Barcelona ‘has no intention of making this kind of outlay for a star player who would be an important substitute for Hansi Flick’.
And it is understood that ‘the board has managed to reach an agreement with the Red Devils so they won’t have to pay anything in return, and Rashford will arrive completely free‘.
The report reveals that Rashford will sign ‘on loan, with no obligation to buy, although [Joan] Laporta and Deco will have to assume the full salary he receives , which is not exactly small.’
