Marcus Rashford has addressed his Manchester United future while on international duty with England at the World Cup, making it clear he is prioritising the tournament over transfer speculation. The forward, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Barcelona, told reporters he wants to remain fully present in the moment as England push for glory.
Rashford's Loan Move to Barcelona
Rashford made no secret of his desire to seal a move to Barcelona earlier this year. “I am not a magician, but if I was, I would stay. We will see,” he said when asked whether he expected his temporary stay in Catalonia to be made permanent. The Manchester United forward still has a picture of his Barca unveiling pinned to his Instagram account, and you have to scroll for quite some time to find any mention of United.
If Rashford still holds hope of returning to Barcelona this summer, he is likely to be disappointed. United have no interest in discussing another loan move for the academy graduate and have always insisted that if Barca decided against paying the £26million needed to sign Rashford, they would look elsewhere. Having already decided against shelling out a cut-price fee for the forward, if Rashford is not a United player next season, it is difficult to envisage the Nou Camp being his new home.
World Cup Complicates Transfer Timeline
The World Cup was always bound to complicate matters this summer as clubs look to do business, but that has not stopped some major deals from being completed. Manchester City have secured the £116m signing of Elliot Anderson, and plenty of other players participating at the World Cup have had their club futures settled. But Rashford will not be following suit.
“I was very clear with everyone involved before the World Cup, I wanted it (a move) done before,” Rashford told reporters on Saturday. “If it’s not, I wanted it to wait until after. I want to be fully present in the moment. We’re fighting for something special.”
Impact on Manchester United
A knee-jerk reaction from any United fan who does not want to see Rashford back at the club would perhaps be that these comments can only be bad news for the Reds. If England reach the final of the World Cup, they will be out in North America for at least another two weeks. As with all players competing at the World Cup, Rashford will then be afforded time off ahead of the new season, and with the transfer window closing on September 3, suddenly the window in which United will be able to sell Rashford looks pretty small.
But Rashford not concentrating on his future does not mean work is not ongoing behind the scenes. Clubs are still free to speak to United about the forward, and the truth of the matter is the more focused Rashford is on England's push for World Cup glory, the more likely he is to perform and put himself in the shop window. There was nothing particularly revelatory about Rashford's comments, and his chat with reporters would have garnered far more attention had he claimed he could not stop thinking about his United future.
United need Rashford to concentrate on his football, and if he shines in the latter stages of the World Cup, it can only be good news for the club. The rest is up to United.
