Marcus Rashford next? How the last 10 players to leave Man Utd for Serie A fared

Marcus Rashford is narrowing down his options for his next club after Manchester United and a move to Serie A is coming under increased consideration.

AC Milan have made an approach for Rashford, while Juventus and Napoli are in contention to take him to Italy too. And with Rashford ruling out a move to Saudi Arabia, for example, more signs are pointing towards a Serie A switch for the 27-year-old.

Man Utd have sent plenty of players to Italy in recent years, including in the summer just gone – but how have those players fared and who would Rashford follow in the footsteps of if he was to join Milan or Napoli?

Here are the 10 most recent moves from Man Utd to Serie A.

Scott McTominay

Like Rashford, Scott McTominay was a Man Utd academy graduate who had only ever played for the Red Devils in his senior career. However, his time with the club came to an emotional end in the summer of 2024, despite having just had his best season (at least in terms of goalscoring).

The decision to let McTominay go was partially influenced by Profit & Sustainability Rules, but even after banking more than £25m, Man Utd may have some regrets while seeing how the Scotland international has done since his move to Napoli.

McTominay has settled swiftly into Antonio Conte’s midfield, impressing with his energy and retaining his goalscoring threat. For instance, he scored inside the first 25 seconds of a game against Como in October to open his account in Serie A.

Conte, who has even tweaked his preferred formation to a 4-3-3 to get McTominay into his midfield, has described the 28-year-old as a ‘complete player’.

GO DEEPER – The 13 players who left Man Utd this summer and how they’re faring with next step

Omari Forson

After making his senior Man Utd debut – and a further six appearances – last season, Omari Forson did not agree a new deal at the club, allowing him to explore a new move.

He chose Monza as his destination, agreeing a four-year contract with a club who had just finished in the mid-table regions of Serie A.

This season has been tougher for Monza, who are currently rock bottom of the league. Forson has played six times for them so far, but only once as a starter and the winger has failed to provide a goal or assist yet.

Raphael Varane

In a clear signal of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s focus on the future for Man Utd, there was to be no new deal for 31-year-old Raphael Varane after the end of last season.

And that was for the best, too. On his debut for Como – in a Coppa Italia game – Varane picked up a career-ending injury and decided to retire before he could even make his Serie A debut.

Paul Pogba

Paul Pogba’s career path between 2012 and 2022 took him from Man Utd to Juventus, back to Man Utd and finally back to Juventus.

They say never go back and perhaps that rang true for Pogba, who had some good moments in his second spell but struggled to justify his price tag, and returned to Juventus nowhere near the player he had left them as in 2016.

Injuries and a doping ban overshadowed Pogba’s return to Juventus, where he only made eight more Serie A appearances before his contract was cancelled.

READ MORE – Paul Pogba: What went wrong for the Man Utd, Juventus enigma?

Nemanja Matic

Jose Mourinho brought Nemanja Matic to Man Utd in 2017 and it was Mourinho who took him away from Man Utd in 2022, as the defensive midfielder completed a free transfer to Roma on the back of his 189-appearance spell with the Red Devils.

Matic worked his way into the Roma side and became an indispensable starter for them, guiding the Giallorossi to the 2023 Europa League final – which surprisingly turned out to be his last appearance for the Italians until a move to France with Rennes.

Axel Tuanzebe (loan)

After three separate loan spells with Aston Villa, as part of which he played a part in earning promotion from the Championship, the next step for Axel Tuanzebe’s development was to be sent to Napoli for a loan spell over the second half of the 2021-22 season.

It was the beginning of the end for Tuanzebe’s prospects of fulfilling his potential. After making his Serie A debut in January 2022 for the last 10 minutes of a game against Sampdoria, the defender – due to a combination of injuries and selection decisions – never played for Luciano Spalletti’s side again.

In fact, he would never appear for Man Utd again either, returning from his Italian loan spell to have a forgettable stint with Stoke City before rebuilding his career at Ipswich Town.

Sergio Romero

Sergio Romero was playing in Serie A before he joined Man Utd in 2015 (from Sampdoria) and he returned to Italy after being released in 2021.

A recently promoted Venezia side picked him up that October and gave him 16 league appearances – more than double the amount he had managed in his entire spell at Man Utd.

The goalkeeper left Venezia after their relegation by the end of that season and signed for Boca Juniors back in his native Argentina.

Diogo Dalot (loan)

These days Diogo Dalot is a regular starter for Man Utd at full-back, but his loan spell at AC Milan in the 2020-21 season was something of a turning point.

The Portugal international played 33 times for Milan, which was only one appearance fewer than he had managed in his first two seasons with Man Utd combined.

Recently, Dalot has been coming to Man Utd’s aid as an emergency left-back and it was with Milan that he first truly honed his ability to play on either side of the defence.

Milan were believed to be interested in keeping Dalot after his loan spell, but Man Utd recalled him instead and he has since played more than 150 times for the Red Devils.

Andreas Pereira (loan)

Despite getting 40 appearances under his belt in the 2019-20 season for Man Utd, Andreas Pereira was sent overseas to Lazio for a loan spell the following campaign.

The midfielder made 26 Serie A appearances for Lazio, but became frustrated at a lack of consistent minutes. Only three of those league appearances were starts, with just one lasting the full 90 minutes.

Upon the conclusion of his loan spell, Pereira said he would have been open to staying at Lazio if they gave him more game time, but he moved to Brazil instead with Flamengo before Fulham bought him from Man Utd in 2022.

Chris Smalling

It was a surprise when it was signed off late in the summer 2019 transfer window, but Chris Smalling’s loan move from Man Utd to Roma was a roaring success – so it was far less of a surprise when the Italians signed him permanently.

The negotiations were lengthy, but Man Utd ultimately cashed in for £13.6m plus bonuses on deadline day in October 2020.

Having spent the whole of pre-season training separately from the Man Utd squad, Smalling struggled with injuries in his first season as a permanent Roma player, but bounced back and restored his importance under Mourinho, earning the man of the match award in the 2022 Europa Conference League final.