Manchester United

Manchester United

Premier League • England

Marcus Rashford ‘important’ transfer verdict to arrive TODAY as source reveals who Man Utd star will ‘choose’

Man Utd star Marcus Rashford next to the AC Milan club crest and the words 'decision expected'

Marcus Rashford is expected to confirm he wants to join AC Milan

Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford is on Wednesday expected to communicate his wish to join AC Milan – with a move to the San Siro expected to move forward quickly and with a top source revealing how a sacrifice from Sir Jim Ratcliffe has given the Italians encouragement that a deal is there to be done.

Rashford has been headline news ever since being left out of Ruben Amorim’s squad for the Manchester derby last month and the player’s subsequent announcement through a high-profile media interview that he is keen to leave Old Trafford. And with Manchester United refusing to stand in his way, it seems the match against Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League on December 12 will be the last time the player will have represented his hometown club.

After weeks of speculation, though, a decision on Rashford‘s future appears to be edging closer. His brother and agent Dwaine Maynard last week held talks with AC Milan over a move to the San Siro, and while those conversations were positive, several hurdles appeared to have curtailed the Rossoneri’s chances of pulling off a deal.

And when it was announced on Tuesday that the man Milan hoped to sell to fund their signing of Rashford – Switzerland forward Noah Okafor – had failed a medical at RB Leipzig, it appears their hopes were over for good.

However, Gianluca di Marzio now claims that all still remains for Rashford to sign for Milan – and believes an announcement over the player’s intentions of joining the Serie A giants will be made public on Wednesday.

“There is a lot of competition for the English player. The Red Devils would prefer to loan the English player and are also ready to pay a good part of his salary,” Gianluca DiMarzio reported.

“Wednesday, January 15 will be a very important day for the future of the 1997 class and for the Rossoneri, who could have decisive feedback. Rashford’s brother-agent will meet Man Utd to communicate his decision: Milan expects it to be that of choosing the Rossoneri.”

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How Man Utd sacrifice has cleared the way for Rashford to join Milan

Our sources, who first broke the news about the strong possibility of Rashford leaving in early November, have always stated that AC Milan would need to persuade Rashford that his future lies in Serie A.

And with those sources revealing how a move to Saudi Arabia had immediately been ruled out, the player’s preference had always been on a move to Spain – and ideally with Barcelona.

However, it seems those positive talks with Milan officials have served to change the player’s mind.

Another Italian journalist, Vito Angele, revealed earlier this week that Milan are ‘focused on Rashford to reinforce its attack’ and that advanced talks earlier this week had seen a breakthrough made.

To that end, United, who have already cleared the way for Rashford to leave on loan, have also now relented on their financial demands over the terms of that temporary arrangement and are understood to have agreed to cover a bigger portion of his £325,000 a week wages.

Initially, it was claimed United would be seeking a 50/50 split with any interested party and it remains to be seen what the new arrangement will be worth.

However, as part of that compromise, United’s minority shareholder is thought to have insisted on an obligation to make the move permanent come the summer. Quite how they will finance that move will be established in the days and weeks ahead.

In the meantime, AC Milan’s transfer advisor, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, has also recently broken his side’s silence on their quest to bring the 60-cap England star to the San Siro.

“I know Rashford very well, I played with him when he was young. Now he is a man, he is confirmed as a great footballer,” Zlatan told Sky Italia.

“He is a Manchester player, I don’t know if it takes much to convince him, everyone wants to play for Milan.”

“It is a difficult operation, we haven’t spoken to him yet. Let’s see if we can speak to each other.”

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Meanwhile, United could be forced to move on more than just Rashford this month with two other high-profile stars tipped for the axe, an alarming report claims.

And with the club skating on thin ice as far as Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) are concerned, Mike McGrath of the Daily Telegraph has explained why both Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho could both be reluctantly forced out too.

On the flip side, and with Garnacho being strongly linked with Napoli as a replacement for Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, the Daily Mail claims all talk of the Argentine leaving is ‘agent driven’ and that there are no fears of the 20-year-old leaving Old Trafford this month.

Elsewhere, Ruben Amorim is reported to have informed INEOS of his dream addition at Old Trafford though why a move to Old Trafford will be difficult to pull off has also come to light – and not for the obvious reasons.

And finally, United have surprisingly identified a little-known Red Bull Salzburg ace as a possible replacement for Rashford, with Fabrizio Romano revealing all about how club chiefs are looking into a deal for the player.

 

How Rashford could fit into Milan’s attack

By Samuel Bannister

One of Rashford’s most insistent suitors, Milan are still in a state of evolution after replacing head coach Paulo Fonseca with Sergio Conceicao.

AC Milan attack with Marcus Rashford, Alvaro Morata and Christian Pulisic
How Rashford could fit in as a left winger for Milan

Conceicao has been using a 4-3-3 formation so far, compared to the 4-2-3-1 Fonseca was using.

On paper, Milan’s strongest front three has Rafael Leao on the left wing, Alvaro Morata at centre-forward and Christian Pulisic on the right wing.

Although he encountered some issues with Fonseca, Leao is widely regarded as one of Milan’s best players, so if he is fit and firing, he could have the left-wing spot nailed down – forcing Rashford to take Morata’s place as a striker instead.

Although he encountered some issues with Fonseca, Leao is widely regarded as one of Milan’s best players, so if he is fit and firing, he could have the left-wing spot nailed down – forcing Rashford to take Morata’s place as a striker instead.

Rashford and Morata are different types of striker, of course, with the former being a more mobile option and the latter better with his back to goal, so it could depend on what kind of game plan Conceicao wants to deploy against a particular opponent.

Alternatively, Rashford could get his wish of playing on the left wing, but it would be hard to imagine a way for him and Leao to feature in the same team then.

From the wider role, he would likely be tasked with drifting inside to support Morata and benefit from the Spaniard bringing others into play.

There could still be a way for Morata, Leao and Rashford to all feature together, either by Rashford taking Pulisic’s place on the right wing or by Milan changing their shape. Conceicao sometimes used a 4-4-2 when he was in charge of Porto, so if he was to replicate that in his new job, Leao could play on the left and Pulisic on the right, with Rashford supporting Morata up front.

Again, this would enable him to play off Morata, but drifting in between the two roles he can play, Rashford might be able to get himself into scoring situations.