Marcus Rashford given renewed hope of Barcelona stay

Marcus Rashford given renewed hope of Barcelona stay

One of the big decisions Barcelona must make before the end of the season is whether or not they will sign Marcus Rashford on a permanent basis. The Manchester United loanee has impressed since joining last summer, but as things stand, it is not enough for the Catalans to activate the €30m buy option that is available to them.

Rashford has 13 goals and 11 assists in 46 matches across all competitions, which is even more impressive when considering he has not been a consistent starter this season. In recent weeks, he’s not been included in the line-up even with Raphinha out injured, which points towards an expected exit in the summer.

But while Rashford waits for the final decision on whether he stays or goes, which will be made by Hansi Flick, he has given himself an extra chance of remaining at the Spotify Camp Nou. As per MD, he’s starting to emerge as a possible understudy to Lamine Yamal on the right side of Barcelona’s attack, with his impressive cameo in Saturday’s victory over Osasuna coming from that position.

Whenever he has been fit, Lamine Yamal has started for Barcelona, and he’s also often played the full match. This has meant that has struggled for minutes since arriving from FC Copenhagen last summer, and it’s increasingly likely that the Catalans cash in at the earliest opportunity, which would leave a vacancy on the right.