Manchester United and Marcus Rashford's camp increasingly believe the forward will stay at Old Trafford and play for his boyhood club next season, even though his future remains unresolved with a month of the transfer window still to run.
Rashford spent last season on loan at Barcelona, where he won the La Liga title and played well enough to earn a recall to the England squad for this summer's World Cup. But Barcelona declined to trigger a £26million option to sign him permanently before their mid-June deadline, and no other club has been willing to meet United's £40million valuation.
Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick admitted over the weekend that he will miss the 28-year-old.
A year ago, Rashford was banished by United manager Ruben Amorim and forced to train separately with the club's so-called 'bomb squad' at Carrington before his move to Spain. His season in Catalonia marked a dramatic turnaround.
Why Rashford has not left United this summer
Any transfer has to account for Rashford's £325,000-a-week salary, agreed as part of a five-year contract he signed at Old Trafford in 2023. He is comfortably United's highest earner since Casemiro left the club this summer, and suggestions he could take a pay cut are considered unrealistic.
Barcelona paid his full wages during the loan spell but were only prepared to offer half of the £26million asking price to make the deal permanent. United rejected any attempt by the Catalan club to take Rashford on loan for a second season, and Barcelona's move for his England team-mate Anthony Gordon, signed from Newcastle United for £70million to play on the left of their attack, suggested they had already moved on.
Rashford issued a message last week thanking the club and its supporters for "a positive and unforgettable experience."
Once Barcelona's option expired on 15 June, United made clear they would consider offers of £40million from other clubs, with the exception of Manchester City and Liverpool, until that window closed in mid-July. It is understood a number of Premier League clubs, including two with particular interest, along with sides from Italy, Germany, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, are still weighing up a move for the Wythenshawe-born forward, most likely on loan.
When Rashford is due back at United
Rashford is among the last group of World Cup players due to report back next week, alongside England team-mate Kobbie Mainoo and Argentina's Lisandro Martinez. United have not confirmed a return date, a sign of how sensitive his situation remains.
It is unclear whether he will report to Carrington or to Maynooth, where Michael Carrick's squad are training at Carton House ahead of a friendly against Leeds United at Croke Park next Wednesday.
It comes a year after intense scrutiny over Rashford's comings and goings at the training ground, when Amorim kept him and the rest of the sidelined players away from Carrington until the first-team squad had left, in what was described as "a coordinated return." Amorim said in January last year that he would rather play his 63-year-old goalkeeper coach, Jorge Vital, than Rashford, days before the forward joined Aston Villa on loan.
Carrick, by contrast, has a far more conciliatory relationship with Rashford, having played alongside him, coached him and now managed him across a decade since Rashford broke into the first team under Louis van Gaal in 2016.
Rashford's first game back for United could be against Amorim's AC Milan in Wroclaw a week on Saturday.
Can Carrick reintegrate his former team-mate?
United have been looking for a left-sided attacker this summer, and already have one under contract for another two years capable, on his day, of being among the most dynamic wide players in Europe. The rising cost of alternatives may also be concentrating minds at Old Trafford.
United have been priced out of moves for Elliot Anderson and Mateus Fernandes this summer and have spent just £85million so far, on Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans. Gordon cost Barcelona £70million, while Crysencio Summerville, a player on United's own list, joined Al Hilal from West Ham United for £68million. Against those figures, keeping Rashford no longer looks expensive.
His form dipped over his final two seasons at United, but there is nothing to suggest Carrick and his staff cannot have the same effect on Rashford that they have had on Mainoo. Like Mainoo, Rashford's central issue was with Amorim rather than the club as a whole.
Still, there is no guarantee Rashford will remain a United player when the window shuts next month. With only Matheus Cunha and Patrick Dorgu available on the left wing, the club would have little time to find a replacement if he does leave.
