The revamped Barcelona attack with Marcus Rashford and where Man Utd loanee will fit in

Marcus Rashford is ready for his new challenge as a Barcelona player, but how will he fit into their star-studded attack?

Barcelona have taken Rashford on loan from Manchester United for the 2025-26 season, after which they will have an option to buy him. It’s the move he’s been dreaming of for months – and now it’s over to him to make the kind of impact that will convince Barcelona to make it a longer-term arrangement.

But Rashford is joining an already star-studded attack. Barcelona were the only LaLiga team last season to score more than 100 goals, so it was no wonder they won the title.

Rashford’s arrival will give Hansi Flick another option to rotate into his lineups. The England international’s versatility will put him in contention for starts across the attack, but he’ll have to dislodge some world-class players to become a regular.

So, when he does play, where will Rashford feature and who will he be playing alongside?

Barcelona attack with Rashford on left-wing

Rashford has expressed a preference for playing on the left wing before, explaining two years ago: “I prefer the left, I feel like on the left it’s easier to stay in the game.

“From even when I was younger I always wanted to stay in the game, that’s why I think I struggle playing centre-forward sometimes because I struggle with patience.”

During the 2024-25 season, Barcelona often relied on Raphinha to play on the left wing. The Brazil international provided an excellent return, with 29 of his 34 goals from the season coming in games he played as a left winger.

For Rashford to take on that role, Raphinha would have to move over to the right wing, but that might not be a problem.

Although he’s just had the most prolific season of his career on the left, Barcelona bought Raphinha in 2022 after a season in which he predominantly played on the right wing for Leeds United.

As a left-footer, Raphinha should in theory be able to score even more goals if he was stationed on the right wing and given freedom to cut inside onto his stronger foot.

The question that would pose, though, is what would happen for Lamine Yamal. Barcelona’s precocious talent is living up to the hype and scored 18 goals as a right-winger last season.

Barcelona must ensure Yamal continues his development without too many obstacles, but they must also be conscious not to overwork the teenager. Therefore, he could share gametime with Raphinha if Rashford was to play on the opposite flank.

The striker in this kind of attack, of course, would be Robert Lewandowski, who continues to provide otherworldly goal returns.

Even at the age of 36, Lewandowski scored 42 goals last season. Barcelona know he’s a player they can still rely on as a focal point.

GO FURTHER ⏩ Lewandowski ‘feels challenged’ by Barcelona signing Rashford as attacking plans revealed

Barcelona attack with Rashford at centre-forward

However, Rashford is also capable of playing as a central striker. Indeed, all four of the goals he scored on loan at Villa were in games he played as a centre-forward.

While Lewandowski’s goals-to-games ratio remains impeccable, he turns 37 in August and Barcelona would be wise not to over-burden him to ensure he can remain at peak sharpness for when they need him to be at his most impactful.

As things stand, Ferran Torres can rotate with Lewandowski, but – like Rashford – the former Manchester City star is an option to be used anywhere across the attack.

Rashford has 100 games more experience as a centre-forward than Torres, so could become someone for Flick to turn to when it’s time to rest Lewandowski.

Those tactics would be a way for Rashford, Raphinha and Yamal to all feature in the same formation, with the Englishman down the middle, the Brazilian on the left and the Spaniard on the right.

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Although Barcelona have been eager to increase their options on the wing, using Rashford up front wouldn’t necessarily leave them short. Torres could be a rotation option on one side, while there are also high hopes for recent signing Roony Bardghji.

Bardghji’s development with Copenhagen suffered due to injuries before his Barcelona move, and there have been some predictions that he could be phased in from the B team at his new club, but he has internal backers and should be in and around the first team picture before too long if all goes to plan.

The new-look Barcelona attack

As things stand, the expectation in Catalonia is that Barcelona will use Rashford as a winger.

While there has been speculation about Raphinha, Lewandowski and Yamal all looking over their shoulders, there seems to be room for Rashford as a specialist left-winger.

That’s where Flick is believed to have a plan for Rashford, especially since he could still push someone like Dani Olmo into a false nine role if short of centre-forward options (what with Pau Victor being on the way out for Braga, too).

There could even be a chance for Flick to put Rashford, Raphinha, Lewandowski and Yamal all in the same lineup together. The way to do this would be using Raphinha in a more central role behind the striker in a 4-2-3-1 shape, with Rashford sticking on the left wing.

Olmo would be the casualty from that kind of setup, but these are the kind of headaches that most managers like to have.

Even if Flick is certain that Rashford will mainly be a left winger, his latest new recruit will give him a significant degree of flexibility and the chance to test out different attacking formations against different opponents as the 2025-26 season progresses.