Marcus Rashford ‘prioritises Barcelona transfer but Man Utd outcast gives European giants 24-hour deadline to seal loan’

By Martin Lipton

MARCUS RASHFORD is at a crossroads.

But now the England star has to make the biggest choice he has ever faced – does he care about cash, or about his career?

Rashford’s shock admission that he is “ready for a new challenge” after some two decades under the Manchester United umbrella has altered the dynamic around his future.

That Rashford might not fit the blueprint of Ruben Amorim – who has now responded to Rashford’s comments – was not exactly a surprise.

The Portuguese coach prefers a 3-4-3 formation but appears to have settled on Rasmus Hojlund as his starting central striker and wants two “narrow” inside forwards, with the width coming from the wing-backs.

Rashford has always wanted to play through the middle but is often at his best exploiting spaces out wide – and that skillset does not necessarily suit the way Amorim wants to play.

Even so, going public with his evident dissatisfaction at being bombed entirely from the squad for the Manchester derby was a major move, even if he vowed there would be “no hard feelings” if he does leave his boyhood club.

In truth, Rashford has been leaving United almost from the moment he signed that new £325,000 per week contract in 2023.

Something was broken in his connection to the club. His form dropped, his threat dissipated, his issues with the hierarchy deepened.

When Erik ten Hag dropped him for hosting a birthday party after a derby defeat, and he later pulled a sickie to miss the FA Cup game with Newport, it felt even then that the writing was on the wall.

The facts suggest the love affair has ended. After scoring 30 in all competitions to earn that new deal, he has scored just 15 in the 18 months since it was signed.

Amorim’s arrival seems merely to have accelerated what was increasingly inevitable.

Now, though, it is up to Rashford to determine what his future will bring.

If it is only about the money, then his options might be somewhat limited.

It is hard to see a Prem rival coughing up the same £16.9m annual salary – although Rashford’s comments have probably knocked £20m-plus off any transfer fee.

But Real Madrid have their fill of big-money strikers and Barcelona’s budget remains restricted by LaLiga financial controls.

In Europe, then, that probably leaves PSG – but a move to a one-club league.

Or, in the wider world, he could follow the likes of Ivan Toney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Roberto Firmino and Co and head to the Saudi desert.

Lucrative, yep. Certainly a different environment – and that may be exactly what Rashford both wants and needs. But the football? Not in a million years.

What Rashford needs, above all, is to be able to play for trophies and showcase his talents.

There is no better stage than the Premier League – which has far more global eyeballs on it than any other domestic competition.

And in that Premier League there is one club crying out for a goalscoring No 9, especially if he can also play down the left channel to balance out the side and widen its threat.

Rashford has always been more Longsight than London.

Yet Arsenal, and Mikel Arteta, might be the perfect fit.

The Gunners’ lack of a proper scorer is one of the major factors many fans feel has hurt their title challenge this year.

Gabriel Jesus has never been a natural finisher, while Kai Havertz is still a converted midfielder.

And while the link-up between Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka makes their right flank deadly, faith in Gabriel Martinelli on the left is waning.

There have not been too many who succeeded at Arsenal after leaving United – although Danny Welbeck was not a flop.

Rashford has all the attributes to change that history, if he can reproduce what everybody knows is inside him.

And by breaking free, giving himself the chance to start all over, Rashford can make a point to Amorim that will resonate for a very long time.