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Barcelona sporting director Deco met with Marcus Rashford’s agent this morning as the Manchester United forward attempts to engineer a “dream move” to the Camp Nou, according to a report.
Rashford, 27, is currently on loan as Aston Villa after joining the Birmingham side at the end of the January transfer window after a public dispute with Ruben Amorim.
The Portuguese coach dropped the forward for the trip to the Etihad to play Manchester City in December, citing issues with attitude and application in training.
Just two days later, Rashford released an unauthorised interview declaring his intention to leave Old Trafford in search of a “new challenge“. He did not feature under Amorim again from this point before the loan move to Villa was agreed.
Since arriving at Villa Park, Rashford has enjoyed something of a resurgence in form, scoring four goals and providing six assists in 17 appearances for the Villans.
It was enough to convince new England manager Thomas Tuchel to recall the 27-year-old for the Three Lions’ World Cup qualifiers in March, with Rashford starting both wins against Albania and Latvia.
Villa retain a £40 million buy-option in the loan from United with the Red Devils keen to cash in on the forward as he has no future under Amorim. But Unai Emery’s side have not initiated talks with their Manchester counterparts over the move and he is expected to return to Old Trafford next month when the loan move expires.
Rashford is open to a move abroad with Paris Saint-Germain holding a long-standing after the forward’s numerous strong performances against the Ligue 1 champions over the years, including for Villa in the Champions League quarter-final.
But a switch to Spain to join LaLiga winners Barcelona is believed to be the 27-year-old’s “dream move” after the Catalan club expressed interest in signing him on loan in January.
It appears Barcelona are ready to revisit this pursuit with sporting director Deco – who publicly stated Rashford was a player “we like” earlier this month – spotted meeting with the United player’s representatives at a hotel, according to Spanish outlet SPORT.
The report states Barcelona’s first-choice option for a new left-winger is Liverpool star Luis Diaz. But there is acceptance at Camp Nou that this signing will prove “very, very difficult” with Rashford considered an easier target.
However, SPORT reveals Barcelona want to sign the forward on loan with a purchase option – a move INEOS will not be happy with as they seek to finalise a permanent exit for the club’s most expensively paid player.
Featured image Julian Finney via Getty Images
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