Manchester United need drastic Plan B if Marcus Rashford's Barcelona transfer fails

For much of the January transfer window, it seemed inevitable that Marcus Rashford would finally be leaving Manchester United - the only question would be if it was permanent or temporary.

Now, with just a weekend separating us from deadline day, Rashford's future looks to be in Manchester at least until the summer. MEN Sport understands Barcelona are reluctant to sign the winger on loan in January and would prefer to make the deal at the end of the season.

This is undoubtedly a hammer blow for Rashford after a move to AC Milan also fell through earlier in the window. For United, they now need to have a solid Plan B.

Everyone will be aware that it is simply untenable for United to keep Rashford on the fringes of the squad until the summer. When Jadon Sancho had his bust-up with Erik ten Hag, the situation was at boiling point from September until the Reds could finally part ways with him the following January.

When it seemed like Sancho had nowhere to go, even Ten Hag conceded that the best course of action would be to shake hands and draw a line. They did that to keep the peace, and, eventually, the move to Chelsea was secured.

From Ruben Amorim's perspective, he may now have to row back on his damning criticism of Rashford just to mend that bridge if he is going to be around the building until the summer at least. From Rashford's perspective, he could still leave Old Trafford if he was not willing to accept an olive branch.

The Manchester Evening News understands Rashford has previously rejected a move to Turkey, but their transfer window is open a week longer. Victor Osimhen was forced into a loan to Galatasaray when a deal could not be negotiated for him in the summer, and his bridges were firmly burnt in Napoli.

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