Tottenham planning to hijack Aston Villa’s Rashford deal after Man Utd loanee chooses next club

Steve Pearson 23 Apr 2025 4:50 PM

Tottenham are in the mix to sign Marcus Rashford

Tottenham are ready to strike a deal for Marcus Rashford following the Manchester United star’s remarkable revival at Aston Villa, while a report has revealed which club the forward wants to join ‘no matter what’.

Rashford has looked a man on a mission since embarking on a new chapter at Villa Park. The forward has bagged 10 goal contributions so far and quickly earned the trust of manager Unai Emery.

Indeed, it was Rashford who was given the nod to start in both legs of Villa’s Champions League quarter-final clash with PSG.

Ollie Watkins was dropped to the bench for both ties and the Aston Villa frontman was again benched for Villa’s crunch Premier League fixture with Manchester City on Tuesday.

Rashford vindicated his manager’s decision 24 hours ago, scoring from the spot and causing City’s defence all manner of problems during an electric display.

Villa’s loan deal contains an option to buy worth £40m. The Sun have categorically stated they will activate the option, though Fabrizio Romano has been more cautious in his reporting.

The transfer guru claimed Villa will wait until knowing which European competition they’ll play in next season before reaching a decision. The 2-1 defeat to City has greatly reduced their chances of qualifying for the Champions League.

Yet even if Villa do decide to press ahead and activate the option, they must still agree personal terms with the player.

And according to a fresh update from FootballTransfers, Tottenham hope to steam in and take Rashford to north London at Villa’s expense.

Spurs flirted with the idea of signing Rashford in January before moving for Mathys Tel instead.

But on the back of Rashford’s dazzling form at Villa, the report claims Spurs are looking into a deal and would proceed even if they activate their £45m option to buy Tel from Bayern Munich.

There has been speculation Rashford could have a future back at Old Trafford. However, TEAMtalk’s understanding of the situation is the opposite is true, with both the player and club determined to part ways.

FootballTransfers echoed our view of the situation, adding: ‘The England international is expected to leave Manchester United during the upcoming summer transfer window.’

But while a permanent solution is on the horizon, Rashford already has a favoured club in mind and it’s not Villa or Spurs…

Marcus Rashford wants Barcelona

TEAMtalk previously reported Rashford favoured a move abroad when his future came to a crossroads in the winter window. Of those to show interest, it was Barcelona who were his priority.

The LaLiga giants looked into a loan deal, though in the end were unable to finance a move.

However, our insider, Fraser Fletcher, has consistently reported on Barcelona’s continued interest in Rashford beyond the January window and it is possible they explore a permanent move at season’s end.

That would be music to the ears of Rashford and Spanish outlet Sport reported the attacker wants to join Barcelona ‘no matter what.’

Rashford is understood to earn around £325,000-a-week with parent club Man Utd. Understandably, Sport insisted a substantial pay-cut would be required.