Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford must now prove he deserves a permanent Barcelona move, it is claimed.
An eye-catching but unproductive performance by Marcus Rashford for England against Uruguay was the second most significant thing to happen for the Manchester United loanee last week.
The most significant occurred 24 hours earlier, when Barcelona teammate Raphinha went off at half-time with an injury in Brazil’s defeat to France.
It is not a season-ending injury, but Raphinha is expected to miss time. We immediately noted that this could benefit Rashford, who has struggled for game time at Barcelona recently.
This view is shared in Spain, with expectations raised for Rashford at a crucial point in the season.
Spanish media on Marcus Rashford
There is a deal in place for Barcelona to sign Marcus Rashford for £26 million at the end of the season. This was written into the loan agreement.
But it has been unclear whether they actually want to. Rashford did not even get off the bench in their 7-2 win over Newcastle in the Champions League.
There has been speculation Barcelona are looking at alternative options, and Marca re-emphasise this in their latest editorial following Raphinha’s injury.
Importantly, they note that Rashford now faces a ‘final exam’ to earn his transfer to Barcelona.
Describing him as the ‘most natural’ replacement for Raphinha, the Spanish newspaper writes: “An unexpected opportunity has opened up for the Briton to prove he deserves a place in the Barca squad next season.
“The challenge is enormous, because his future at the club is not guaranteed.”
The report adds, “Rashford now has everything in his favour,” in the weeks ahead, with Raphinha dealing with an injury, and competitors Ferran Torres and Roony Bardghji not in great form.
Rashford’s game time had been declining, but now he should get a fair opportunity to demonstrate his importance to the team. He has not completed 90 minutes since November, and has not scored since January.
Rashford has dual goals
Marcus Rashford has two goals that he is currently working towards.
- Earn a permanent move to Barcelona
- Make the England 2026 World Cup squad
He has a good chance to do both, but neither are guaranteed. Crucially, he now has the biggest say in achieving both.
2026 has been tricky for Rashford so far, due to his irregular game time. Now he has a big chance to prove his worth to Barcelona, and if he can do that successfully, his England place should be guaranteed too.
from United In Focus https://ift.tt/s1vlZuy