AC Milan in for £108m Man Utd duo after ‘accepting defeat’ in Marcus Rashford chase

AC Milan are ‘considering’ moving for Manchester United forwards Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund after Marcus Rashford escaped their grasp, it has been claimed.

Rashford’s camp recently travelled to Italy to hold talks with Milan and Juventus chiefs after the forward publicly revealed he is looking for a new challenge. Milan’s senior advisor, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, has pushed to take his former Man Utd team-mate to San Siro.

Despite Ibrahimovic confirming Milan’s interest in Rashford, the transfer has yet to be agreed and the Serie A giants are at risk of losing out on the Englishman to the likes of Borussia Dortmund or Barcelona.

ESPN have now provided their take on the situation, stating that Milan have ‘accepted defeat’ in their bid to land Rashford.

Milan had given him a deadline of Monday to make a firm decision on moving to Italy, but the 27-year-old has signalled he wants to join Barca instead.

The Rossoneri are now sounding out alternatives to Rashford as they look to improve Sergio Conceicao’s forward line and attack the second half of the season.

There is still the potential for Milan to do a deal with United, though. The report adds that Milan are ‘exploring the possibility’ of signing either Zirkzee or Hojlund before the winter deadline to bolster their centre-forward ranks.

Any deal would likely be a loan, plus a potential option to buy in the summer.

Milan have been encouraged by the fact that United are ‘ready’ to sanction numerous exits this month to free up space in Ruben Amorim’s squad for new arrivals.

Hojlund and Zirkzee are both young players with good potential, though they have struggled for goals this term.

Amorim is happy to let one of the players leave so he can bring in a more experienced striker with a better goalscoring record.

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ESPN also confirm TEAMtalk’s previous reporting that Joao Felix is an attacking option for Milan, with Conceicao a big fan of him.

United will likely have to take a big financial hit when letting either Hojlund or Zirkzee leave. Hojlund joined the Red Devils for an initial £64million (potentially rising to £72m) in August 2023.

While the 21-year-old has shown signs of promise at United, he has only scored two Premier League goals so far this season.

Zirkzee followed Hojlund to Old Trafford last summer when INEOS agreed to pay Bologna £36.5m for his signature.

The Dutchman has looked off the pace though and has even been booed by his own fans as he struggles to adapt to English football.

Reports have claimed that Zirkzee wants to stay at United and make sure he succeeds, though Milan could give him one last chance to go back to Italy before the winter deadline.

This report comes after it emerged that Milan have lost patience with Rashford as he carefully weighs up his next move. Monaco have joined the race for Rashford, but it would be tough to convince the player to head to Ligue 1.

Rashford is thought to be ‘open’ to staying at United if no exit can be agreed, in what would be a remarkable twist.

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Man Utd latest: Alejandro Garnacho decides; surprise transfer suggestion

Meanwhile, Alejandro Garnacho reportedly wants to join Chelsea despite Napoli pushing hard for the United winger.

Chelsea are considering hijacking Napoli’s talks for Garnacho and thundering in with an offer to match his £60m price tag.

The player’s agents were pictured at Stamford Bridge on Monday night as Chelsea beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-1.

Casemiro is another United star who could soon be axed by Amorim.

But former United player Kleberson thinks the Brazilian should stay as he can ‘offer more’ for the team.

“Casemiro is the one player who doesn’t shy away from the pressure, he can handle the pressure,” Kleberson said.

“People can get upset with him or the media and the news can try and punch him down, but he’s always the same guy and will always try to play the way that he can play. You saw him score two goals against Leicester, the second goal that he scored he was the one that won the header and he still had the desire to get the next ball.

“I think things are getting better for him. Every time a season is done, you hear that Casemiro has to leave United, that he is done, has to go to Saudi Arabia or back to Brazil, but he can still play. He is a captain for the club and he can still offer more to United.”

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