Barcelona have begun talks to sign Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford.
The 27-year-old has just spent the second half of the season on loan at Aston Villa after he was frozen out of United’s first team by Ruben Amorim.
Villa, who finished sixth in the Premier League and missed out on a place in next season’s Champions League, have an option to sign Rashford for £40 million.
However, it’s understood that Rashford’s preference is to join a Champions League club.
According to Sport, Barcelona have now stepped up their efforts to sign Rashford and the club’s sporting director, Deco, met with the United forward’s agent at a hotel in the city on Wednesday.
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The report claims that Barcelona’s preference is to sign Luis Diaz but due to Liverpool’s high asking price, a move for the Colombia international is considered ‘very difficult’.
Barcelona are exploring alternative options to strengthen their attack, which has relied heavily on Raphinha, Lamine Yamal and Robert Lewandowski to win the Spanish league and cup double this season, and Rashford is viewed as a ‘low-cost option’ by the Catalan club.
Sport report that Barcelona are looking to sign Rashford on an initial loan deal which would include an option to buy next year.
Both Deco and Hansi Flick, Barcelona’s head coach, have given their approval for Rashford’s signing. Flick is said to appreciate the England international’s ‘directness and versatility’.
When asked for his view on Rashford and Diaz, Flick said last week: ‘Both fantastic players. I like them and we’ll see what happens.’
United, who are on the verge of signing Wolves forward Matheus Cunha in a £62.5m deal, are still holding out for a £40m transfer fee for Rashford.
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