Manchester United star Marcus Rashford's future is still in doubt – despite two years remaining on his current contract.
The England star fell out of favour at Old Trafford under Ruben Amorim – despite scoring the first goal of the Portuguese's ill-fated tenure – and has since spent the last 18 months on loan.
But with Rashford uncertain as to his next move and Manchester United wanting to make some money on the previously untouchable forward, there could be an uncomfortable transfer ahead for the Red Devils.
Manchester United might be forced into selling Marcus Rashford to a rival, after Barcelona move dried up
After spending last season on loan at Barcelona, the Catalan giants had a ridiculously cheap £26 million option in place to make Rashford their first English signing since Gary Lineker in the 1980s.
The La Liga champions instead dithered over that clause, and after signing Anthony Gordon from Newcastle United and adding further depth in the form of Karim Adeyemi from Borussia Dortmund, Rashford's dream move to Camp Nou – which FourFourTwo understands he was willing to take a pay cut to facilitate – has all but vanished.
Despite the lack of options on the table, The i reports that United don't want to sell within the Premier League.
Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur have all been mooted as potential destinations for the 28-year-old, with both North London rivals in particular still on the hunt for a superstar left-winger.
The Gunners yesterday confirmed the arrival of Greek forward Christos Tzolis, while Spurs have failed to fully replace talismanic captain Son Heung-min – and while Chelsea have brought in another of England's World Cup contingent in Morgan Rogers recently, they have been known to take chances on Old Trafford rejects in recent years, such as Jadon Sancho and Alejandro Garnacho.
Rashford still earns upwards of £300,000 a week, however, which complicates matters, while United are said to be incredibly reluctant to see an academy graduate turn out for another of the division's so-called Big Six, given his high ceiling.
As of right now, Rashford is actually expected to return to the fold at Carrington – and given that he harbours no bad feelings towards United, he may well feature under manager Michael Carrick during preseason.
While Carrick would no doubt be open to using Rashford in rotation next season, the wages are a sticking point – and United's hierarchy are unlikely to want to make such a high-profile U-turn.
The England man's lack of defensive work-rate may yet exclude him from becoming an elite club's leading left-winger, with Serie A an option.
Rashford is worth €40m, as per Transfermarkt. United begin their Premier League season against Hull City.
