Marcus Rashford is on loan at Barcelona this season and the club have an option to make his move from Manchester United permanent, but the England international’s future is unclear

Barcelona are nearing an agreement to sign Alessandro Bastoni from Inter Milan, beating Liverpool to the player, in a deal that could impact Marcus Rashford’s future at the club. The Catalan club and Bastoni’s representatives are said to be moving in the same direction, with it only a ‘matter of time’ before all parties are aligned.

It is claimed that Barca’s return to Camp Nou will see the club satisfy La Liga’s Financial Fair Play rules, but a high-earning player could yet depart to facilitate Barcelona landing their primary targets of Bastoni and a new forward, namely Julian Alvarez.

This is where Rashford’s position at the club has proven vulnerable. It has previously been reported that the forward’s salary has proven problematic, despite the loan star being willing to reduce his salary by almost half, and that has paused progress over a deal.

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Barca are keen to retain experience to benefit a young crop of players, which had played into Rashford’s favour. A bid to keep 37-year-old veteran striker Robert Lewandowski at the club, at a reduced salary, appeared to place Rashford’s future into more doubt.

But now Lewandowski has been touted as that player, according to reports in Italy, with AC Milan and Juventus being named as possible destinations for the Polish striker.

Rashford got on the scoresheet for Barcelona against local rivals Espanyol on Saturday. The England international rounded off the scoring after a Ferran Torres brace and Lamine Yamal goal put the game out of reach.

Rashford is under contract at Old Trafford until 2028 and his end to the season could still impact how likely Barcelona are to keep the start, with Hansi Flick a fan. They are already said to have had talks over players of a similar profile to Rashford, including Benfica’s Andreas Schjelderup, Victor Munoz of Osasuna, and Mallorca’s Jan Virgili.

Flick was pleased to see Rashford score against Espanyol, despite opting to use him from the bench even with Raphinha injured. The German coach also praised Torres, who has received criticism this season.

“I’m happy for Ferran and also for Lamine’s and Rashford’s goals,” he said. “The most important thing is to protect the players.

“We’ll be criticised, but we have to manage it. It’s not easy, and sometimes it’s unfair, but it’s part of our job. It’s part of my responsibility. Ferran is in good form, and that’s a good thing.”

Flick was asked about Rashford last week, and suggested he’d adapted well at Barcelona ahead of the game with Atletico.

“It’s not just about pressing with the ball; in the end, you also have to defend,” he said. “But he’s doing things well and has adapted. We’re going to play against Atletico, and they are good down the wings.”

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