Marcus Rashford becomes pawn in INEOS quest for €175m star

Manchester United could use Marcus Rashford to get a deal done to bring Rafael Leao to Old Trafford in the summer transfer window, according to a report, as Michael Owen urges the Red Devils’ co-owners, INEOS, to give Rasmus Hojlund another chance.

Rashford’s loan spell at Barcelona from Man Utd is about to come to an end, but the future of the England international winger is far from certain.

TEAMtalk’s transfer insider, Graeme Bailey, has reported that Rashford wants to stay at Barcelona.

We understand that Barcelona, too, want to keep Rashford, with Man Utd ready to sever ties with the England international winger for good this summer.

However, the sticking point is that Barcelona do not want to trigger the €30million (£26m, $35m) buy-option in Rashford’s contract.

Sources have told us that Barcelona want to keep Rashford on loan for next season and then make it permanent in 2027.

Man Utd to use Marcus Rashford to sign Rafael Leao

Man Utd are not willing to do such a deal for Rashford, with CaughtOffSide reporting that the Red Devils could use the English star to sign Rafael Leao from AC Milan in the summer of 2026.

The Premier League giants are keen on a 2026 summer deal for Leao, who has a release clause of €175m (£152m, $204m) in his contract at Milan.

Man Utd are not going to pay that kind of money for the Portugal international winger.

However, Man Utd co-owners, INEOS, would be willing to pay €50m (£43.4m, $58.3m) and include a player to sweeten the deal.

Rashford, Manuel Ugarte and Joshua Zirkzee are the players that Man Utd could use to lower the fee for Leao, according to the report.

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Michael Owen wants Rasmus Hojlund back at Man Utd

Michael Owen has urged Man Utd to give Rasmus Hojlund a second chance.

The Denmark international striker joined Napoli on loan from Man Utd in the summer of 2025.

The 23-year-old, who struggled to make an impact at Man Utd, has scored 15 goals and given eight assists in 43 matches in all competitions for Napoli this season.

Metro has quoted former Man Utd striker Owen as saying: “I don’t care who you play up front, it’s very hard to judge when the team aren’t functioning.

“Stirkers are the end of the chain, if the chain is broken, it’s pointless in many ways. I would love to see Hojlund and see what he can do now.

“He played in a Manchester United team that was broken and didn’t have any links and played poorly.

“Who’s to say he’s not really good? He’s doing really well in Italy now.

“Sesko is the same, it was hard to judge but now that chain throughout the team is actually working, you are seeing a different type of player.

“I just wonder how much wastage there has been for many years in.

“Everyone says the purchases have been poor and that might be the case but sometimes they might not get a fair crack of the whip because they don’t get the service.”

Despite Owen’s insistence, Hojlund’s future at Man Utd is effectively over.

With Napoli qualifying for the Champions League, as part of an obligatory clause, Hojlund’s loan deal at the Italian club has become permanent for £38million as reported by The Mirror.

Joshua Zirkzee future at Man Utd bleak

Journalist Pete O’Rourke has reported in Football Insider that Joshua Zirkzee is unlikely to be at Man Utd next season.

O’Rourke said: “Obviously, as you mentioned, he has struggled for minutes under Michael Carrick especially.

“He made his first start under Carrick in last weekend’s goalless draw against Sunderland and struggled to make his mark in that game.

“That was his chance to impress Carrick. He didn’t really take it, so he has failed to impress really under the interim manager.

“He came close to leaving in January, there was interest in Zirkzee then, but United couldn’t allow him to leave with Bryan Mbeumo and Amad [Diallo] away at AFCON.

“If United can recoup a good fee for him, it’s something that they might be open to because it will boost their own transfer kitty to maybe strengthen their squad elsewhere.”

The journalist further added: “Zirkzee himself could potentially push for a move away from Manchester United this summer.

“I’m sure he wants to be playing regular first-team football and if that’s not going to come at Old Trafford as things stand, so he could be on the move.

“There’s a lot of interest from Italy in Zirkzee because that’s where he’s had his best success, he had a very successful spell at Bologna prior to his move to Old Trafford.

“So there are a number of Italian clubs looking at Zirkzee to see if he can be prised away back to Italy.

“That will be where the most interest is coming from in the summer and it looks like his most likely destination would be to one of those clubs.

“If United can recoup a good fee for him, it’s something that they might be open to because it will boost their own transfer kitty to maybe strengthen their squad elsewhere.”

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