Barcelona are attempting to seal the loan signing of Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford by offloading Ansu Fati before the January transfer window slams shut, according to reports. The La Liga giants want to rescue Rashford from Old Trafford in the coming week, but financial constraints require further exits.
Ruben Amorim has excluded the 27-year-old from 10 of his last 11 matchday squads and left him as an unused substitute in the outlier.
Rashford’s relationship with United supporters has deteriorated in recent years, and a public admission of his desire for a “new challenge” intensified the ill-feeling.
Amorim has made it clear that the sentiment is mutual by exiling Rashford from his plans, citing poor training performance as the reason.
However, the England international has struggled to land a loan exit with just a week of the winter window left.
AC Milan were considered frontrunners before dropping out of the race to sign Manchester City defender Kyle Walker instead. AS Monaco and Borussia Dortmund have also been linked.
But it is now Barcelona at the forefront of the chase, and the Blaugrana are attempting to orchestrate a blockbuster swoop.
According to SPORT, the club’s sporting hierarchy, led by Deco, is trying to ship out Fati and Andreas Christensen to make way for Rashford.
Barcelona are reportedly set to pocket around £5million from the sale of 20-year-old midfielder Unai Hernandez to Saudi Arabia.
Yet, that won’t be enough to give the green light to Rashford, who is said to be willing to accept a pay cut to force a switch through.
It’s claimed Barcelona have informed Rashford’s representatives how much they are willing to pay him for the remainder of the season.
The report adds that Hansi Flick is happy with his squad but wants to add an attacker to his ranks before the deadline.
However, Barca’s plans to cash in on Fati and Christensen have suffered a significant blow, with the latter suffering a poorly timed injury.
Christensen has an issue with the soleus of his right leg after training on Tuesday morning and faces three weeks on the sidelines.
It leaves Fati as Barcelona’s primary hope of generating the funds to pursue Rashford, who could yet stay in Manchester until the summer.
Amorim has left his prospects of playing time open by insisting that any player will be in contention if he believes they are offering the “maximum” on the training pitch.
The ball is in Rashford’s court when it comes to his United minutes, but it’s Barcelona’s turn to decide his short-term future.
