Manchester United have £80m Marcus Rashford dilemma after England call made

While Marcus Rashford’s omission from Gareth Southgate’s provisional England squad for Euro 2024 may have been presented as a shock, the form of the 26-year-old meant it really shouldn’t have been.

Eight goals in 42 games in all competitions for Rashford for Manchester United this past season has seen him placed under scrutiny, with talk of a potential departure from Old Trafford mooted for this summer.

A proven player at an elite level, something evidenced through his 131 goals in 401 competitive games for one of the biggest clubs in the world, this season has been one where Rashford has failed to ignite, and at a time when the club is looking to reshape its identity now that Sir Jim Ratcliffe has been handed oversight of football matters after his minority stake purchase at the start of the year, Rashford can no longer be seen as untouchable.

READ MORE: Why Manchester United's Marcus Rashford is not in England's provisional Euro 2024 squad

READ MORE: Provisional England Euro 2024 squad in full

United faces a dilemma over Rashford, a player who on his day has shown over time to be one of the most potent attacking forces in the Premier League.

Last summer he signed a fresh five-year deal, one that would take him up to the summer of 2028. But the issue for United is that the kind of rebuild that they are believed to be targeting will require some significant funds to be raised in order to facilitate it and remain under the radar of the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules, in its final year next season before being replaced by a model akin to UEFA’s squad cost ratio rule.

Player trading is something that United has been poor at executing for some time, and that has hindered progress. Player trading is now