Marcus Rashford shocked the footballing world when he appeared to suggest he’s considering moving on from Manchester United.
The 27-year-old joined the Manchester United youth setup at the age of seven and has remained at the club ever since, rising through the ranks and establishing himself as a key component of the senior side.
Now, however, Rashford has signalled that he may be open to a new challenge in the near future. Here are some of the destinations he could be considering…
The options open to Marcus Rashford following his Manchester United departure reveal
Speaking to journalist Henry Winter, Rashford said: “For me, personally, I think I’m ready for a new challenge and the next steps.
“I’m halfway through my career, I don’t expect my peak to be now. I’ve had nine years so far in the Premier League and that’s taught me a lot, that’s helped me grow as a player and as a person. So I don’t have any regrets from the last nine years.”
Winter’s post mentions possible demand in Spain. While Real Madrid are already bursting with top wide talent, seemingly ruling out a trip to the Bernabeu, Barcelona did spend the summer chasing fellow left winger Nico Williams to no avail despite their best attempts, so there may be a glint of an opening at the Nou Camp.
Paris Saint-Germain have long been credited with an admiration for Rashford — and certainly have the money to make a deal happen with all of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi off their books in recent years — but TEAMtalk report that sources at the French club are playing down talk of an approach having failed in their pursuit previously.
The same report reveals Saudi-based interest from Al-Qadsiah and Al-Ittihad, but they believe Rashford is focused on staying in Europe at the moment. Ex-professionals Bacary Sagna and Emmanuel Petit have even suggested a switch to Arsenal in the past, with the pair backing the Danny Welbeck-esque switch to sort out the forward-line gaps at the Emirates Stadium.
But, for now, Rashford is still a United player, as Ruben Amorim was keen to point out in a press conference the next day: “No [I’ve not spoken to Marcus yet]. We gave a day off to the lads. He’s our player and he’s ready for the next game.”
In FourFourTwo’s opinion, though the Manchester-born winger hasn’t matched his 2022/23 self in the past couple of seasons, there will be plenty of top teams willing to take a chance on him for the right price.
We don’t know whether Rashford’s absence from the matchday squad for the Manchester City game has prompted this reveal, but it will be interesting to see how Amorim now handles the situation for upcoming games, especially if a January sale isn’t agreed.
