Romano: Man Utd to start negotiating deal for 23 G/A England star ‘over next months’

Fabrizio Romano via YouTube. Barcelona have every intention of keeping Marcus Rashford beyond his season-long loan spell, which will expire in June.The La Liga giants are delighted with the impact that the on-loan Manchester United star has had since swapping Old Trafford for Camp Nou.However, recent reports have suggested that the Blaugrana were hoping to haggle a lower transfer fee when the time comes for them to activate Rashford’s £26 million buy option.DOWNLOAD THE OFFICIAL STRETTY NEWS APP FOR ALL THE LATEST UPDATES & BREAKING – STRAIGHT TO YOUR PHONE! ON APPLE & GOOGLE PLAYMarcus Rashford’s deal: The state of play(Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)From United’s point of view, there is no chance of such a deal materialising. Barcelona will have to shell out the clause upfront, though INEOS chiefs are said to be kicking themselves behind the scenes for setting such a low sum, given the impact he’s had in Catalonia.In the 34 appearances he’s made across all competitions, the 28-year-old has returned a hugely impressive 10 goals and 13 assists.Rashford has particularly excelled in Europe, where he has found the back of the net five times and notched four assists in eight matches across the first phase of the competition.Such stellar showings have put him in excellent standing ahead of this summer’s World Cup, especially considering Thomas Tuchel was utilising him in the second half of 2024/2025, when he was on loan with Aston Villa and looking to revive his career after falling out of favour under Ruben Amorim.Rashford rules out Red Devils return (Photo by Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)Surprisingly, it’s been suggested this week that current interim boss Michael Carrick would be keen on having Rashford at his disposal next season in the event he’s granted the job permanently – but the player himself has his heart set on a permanent Barcelona switch.Fabrizio Romano shared an update on the Carrington graduate’s situation last night, saying: “Barcelona want to keep Marcus Rashford beyond this season. [They are] planning to negotiate and reduce the €30m (£26m) buy option from Man United.“MUFC insist on Rashford’s fixed price to be received in full: €30m — salary also a topic to discuss over [the] next months.”