Rashford transfer chances 'restricted' as forward 'insists he won't take wage cut'

Marcus Rashford is expected to leave Manchester United this summer, with club officials reportedly resigned to the idea of the forward moving abroad.

Rashford joined Aston Villa on loan in February after being left out of 11 of Ruben Amorim’s final 12 squads prior to his exit. Any prospect of a fresh start under the new 40-year-old head coach appears dead in the water.

United are understood to be open to permanent offers in the region of £40million, though Villa do not have an option to buy.

The 27-year-old’s loan spell has been disrupted by a hamstring injury that has sidelined him for three weeks, but he made ten starts and seven substitute appearances before that, scoring four goals and providing six assists.

According to the Manchester Evening News, Rashford is said to have been “never happier” at Villa Park, where the club have been covering 75% of his £325,000-a-week wages.

The report discusses Rashford’s future at Old Trafford and reveals he ‘insists he is not prepared to take a wage cut’ this summer.

READ MORE: Where next for Marcus Rashford? Villa or ‘dream’ scenario threatened by lack of cash?

That enormous salary is a clear sticking point, and his refusal to take a pay cut ‘restricts him to a handful of potential suitors’.

With his current United contract running until 2028, any deal will require financial gymnastics — or one of Europe’s big hitters stepping in.

Rashford is believed to be targeting Champions League football next season and is reportedly not interested in joining a London club.

That has only added fuel to the persistent speculation that he could pull a Jadon Sancho and go out on loan again, or even make the shock switch to Manchester City or Liverpool. The chances remain remote, but stranger things have happened.

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Barcelona remain a club that appeals to Rashford, although they’re currently well-stocked out wide with Raphinha and Lamine Yamal.

PSG, who previously held talks with Rashford’s brother Dwaine Maynard in 2022, are now said to be building ‘a younger and less egocentric squad’ — one that just reached a Champions League final without Kylian Mbappe.

United, meanwhile, are braced for Rashford’s return to pre-season training in July, with the situation potentially developing into another drawn-out Sancho-style stalemate — unless someone blinks in the transfer market.

It looks increasingly like the Rashford era at Manchester United is being brought quietly to a close.

The England international has made 426 appearances for his boyhood club, scoring 138 goals, providing 77 assists and winning six trophies, including two FA Cups.

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