Man United suffered Marcus Rashford blow less than 24 hours before transfer stance was clear

Marcus Rashford's lifetime connection with Manchester United is looking set to end at the culmination of this season with his relationship with Ruben Amorim unlikely to be resolved.

MEN Sport reported on Wednesday that Rashford is biding his time until the summer before deciding what he is going to do beyond this season. However, the 27-year-old is now fully focused on the idea of leaving Old Trafford for a club playing Champions League football.

Just following the pandemic, this would have been unthinkable news for the Reds but now, the reality is that Rashford moving on represents what is best for business. MEN Sport also understands that United are looking to use the sales of Rashford, as well as Jadon Sancho and Antony, to purchase Wolverhampton Wanderers' Matheus Cunha and Ipswich Town's Liam Delap.

Aston Villa hold a £40m option to buy Rashford in the summer and after a good loan spell at Villa Park, this is likely to be an enticing prospect for Unai Emery. However, United's masterplan could have fallen down less than 24 hours before it Rashford's stance became clear.

Ineos' hope would be that Villa activate the buy option for Rashford but it is known that the forward would have to agree to the move. Rashford's priority is to play for a club in the Champions League and Emery's men are far from certain of that after their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Tuesday night.

By the end of this weekend, Villa could find themselves cut adrift of the top five which would guarantee a spot in next season's Champions League. That is the only route open to the Champions League for the West Midlands club at this time and if they miss out, Rashford is unlikely to agree to a permanent move.

That would leave United needing to find