Rashford will remain on Barça's radar despite Nico Williams

The board of directors of FC Barcelona hopes to close, at least, two more signings in the summer market. After paying the termination clause of Joan García, the club is working to exhaust the same route with Nico Williams. The Basque player will be the star reinforcement for 2025/26, but not the last on the list of incorporations.

And, in addition to the Athletic Club winger, the 'culés' also have Marcus Rashford 'in sight'. Manchester United does not want to accept a transfer for less than 40 million euros and the 20 'kilos' of his current contract greatly complicate the operation.

However, the 27-year-old striker insists on waiting for a 'azulgrana' offer, aware of United's need to get rid of his contract as a key factor to facilitate the ways of his transfer.

In addition, Nico's signing seems to close the Catalan door, but the 'culé' board thinks otherwise, even when LaLiga insists on putting obstacles to the club to reinforce itself due to the always controversial rules of the financial 'Fair Play'.

Why does Barça still think about Marcus Rashford?

The reasons for this decision have to do with the lack of replacement in terms of wingers. Although Rashford prefers to play on the left, he can also perform very well on the changed profile or as an attacking midfielder. Even as a '9' he also shone at Old Trafford.

This versatility makes him a very valuable replacement for Hansi Flick, since, for the moment, Raphinha is the main alternative to Lamine Yamal when the Mataró player does not occupy the right side.

Nico Williams would arrive to take over the left wing, where Rafa shone last season. The Brazilian would move to play more loosely through the center of the area, behind Robert Lewandowski, with Dani Olmo and Fermín López as alternatives, while Ferran Torres will also wait for his turn to relieve the Polish player.

In this way, the arrivals of the Athletic 'crack' and the English international would increase the lethality of a Barça that was already an offensive bulldozer in 24/25 (scored 173 goals in 60 matches). However, the signing of the Manchester player depends exclusively on the economic aspirations of his club and his high salary.

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Rashford will return to United for the pre-season, waiting for Barça

Beyond the uncertainty about his future, Marcus does not intend to pressure United to accept a 'culé' offer. According to the 'ESPN' network, the winger will join Manchester's pre-season in July, although he is not in the plans of coach Rúber Amorim.

The club, in fact, prioritizes his departure to get rid of his very high salary, but there is no reason to wage a 'war' with the player. Rashford will train with the rest of the 'red devils' squad while waiting for news from Barcelona and, even, his continuity in 'Man U' is not 100% ruled out.

And, in case no convincing offer arrives at Old Trafford, Amorim will have no choice but to smooth things over with the striker, who last season scored 7 goals and 3 assists in 24 matches with the team before going on loan to Aston Villa.

A new loan is not ruled out either, but Barça is not willing to take over a majority percentage of the striker's salary, currently 20 million gross per year. 

In that sense, the 'culés' only see a loan for one year as feasible, without a mandatory purchase option, where they assume no more than 4 'kilos' of the 10 M€ that the striker earns per season. A transfer is less likely, since Barça will exhaust all its cash reserve with the arrival of Nico.

Another purchase would only be feasible through an important sale. In addition, the club does not rule out going for another full-back in July, this if the departures of players such as Gerard Martín and Héctor Fort are finally confirmed. 

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Rashford to Barça: What is he willing to do to sign?

Marcus has also raised the possibility of renewing again with Manchester to lower his salary, although this path looks distant. For the moment, the English international has a contract until 2028 and the 'red devils' do not want to extend his contract any further. 

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