Man Utd ‘set Rashford price’ as ‘problem’ identified with ‘no sign’ of club meeting Ratcliffe demands
Manchester United have whacked a £50million valuation on out-of-favour attacker Marcus Rashford, according to reports.
Rashford has reportedly been put up for sale by Man Utd co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and has not been included in Ruben Amorim’s matchday squad since the 2-1 Europa League victory at Viktoria Plzen on December 12.
He was a notable omission from the team to face Man City three days later and has now missed four matches in a row.
Amorim was hailed after leaving out Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho against the Premier League champions but since then, the Red Devils have lost three in a row.
They were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Tottenham last week, which preceded a 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth and a 2-0 loss away to Wolves on Boxing Day. They are now 14th in the Premier League table. Eek.
Rashford’s future certainly looks away from Old Trafford – fortunately for him – but there are no indications of where he could transfer to.
Paris Saint-Germain are reportedly long-time admirers of the 27-year-old, though they are currently looking to shift Randal Kolo Muani and unlikely to pursue the Man Utd man in January.
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Despite being left out of four matchday squads in a row and stating he is ready to take on a “new challenge”, there could be a way back into the team under Amorim, especially if the club fail to offload him in the winter transfer window.
It has been reported that British billionaire Ratcliffe is open to loaning out Rashford next month but a report from CaughtOffside says a price has been set for a permanent transfer.
Indeed, Man Utd ‘have set an initial asking price of around £50million’ for the England international and are ‘already eyeing replacements’.
Unfortunately for Amorim’s side, ‘there is no sign of any club being willing to pay Man Utd’s £50m asking price’, while his monstrous salary is expected to also ‘be a problem’.
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Selling Rashford will be far from straightforward but the Red Devils are looking at players to replace him, the report adds.
The club’s ‘main targets’ for the left-wing are Napoli superstar Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Athletic Club and Spain star Nico Williams and Brighton’s Kaoru Mitoma.
Williams has a €58m (£48.2m) release clause but is reluctant to leave Athletic Club for a top Premier League club, so Man Utd have no chance.
Mitoma would be an interesting addition but is the same age as Rashford, which makes him an unlikely target given Ratcliffe’s desire to pursue young players.
Napoli winger Kvaratskhelia, meanwhile, is expected to cost around €100m (£83.1m).
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