Manchester United have already found their ideal £60m Marcus Rashford replacement
Manchester United need a replacement for Marcus Rashford - and may have found one.
Manchester United are reportedly preparing for life without forward Marcus Rashford. The academy graduate, who has played 426 times in total for his boyhood club, became a huge fan favourite after bursting onto the scene under Louis van Gaal a decade ago but experienced a challenging period which culminated in former boss Ruben Amorim claiming he would rather put his 63-year-old goalkeeper coach on the bench than the forward because of what he considers a lack of effort.
Rashford was frozen out of the United team for the final few months of his career with the club before enjoying a decent loan spell towards the end of last season with Aston Villa, where he scored four times and assisted six in 17 appearances.
The 68-time international joined Barcelona over the summer on a season-long loan which includes a £26m option to buy, with Spanish outlet Sport reporting that Hansi Flick’s side have every intention of activating that deal. That means Manchester United need a replacement...
Manchester United have already found their ideal Marcus Rashford replacement
The Express reports that interim head coach Michael Carrick would like to keep Rashford if he’s given the opportunity to remain at United next season.
This is unsurprising given that Carrick has played with and coached Rashford in the past. The winger has also rather taken to life at the Camp Nou and shown he’s still an excellent talent with 10 goals and 13 assists this term in a highly competitive squad. Rashford, however, is thought to be open to a new challenge and the deal already in place would leave United powerless unless Barcelona or the player suddenly change their mind.
As such, United are likely to be in the market for a replacement, and one name that’s thought to fit the bill is Everton playmaker Iliman Ndiaye, according to Caught Offside.
The Senegalese international has been hugely successful in Merseyside since joining from Marseille, scoring 15 times in 58 appearances. He’s an immensely gifted right-winger that’s also capable of playing in the No.10 position and the type of player that’d provide strong competition to the likes of Bryan Mbeumo, Amad Diallo and Bruno Fernandes next season, in a campaign that looks increasingly likely to have European football once again.
United could face strong competition to sign Ndiaye
Ndiaye, who is valued at around £60m and under contract until 2029, is likely to be the subject of interest from a number of clubs with Arsenal also being mentioned as potential suitors.
The 25-year-old admitted in an interview: “If clubs like Manchester United are interested, it means I’m doing something right.”
At Arsenal, Ndiaye would be competing with players like Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke, Eberechi Eze and Martin Odegaard for a starting place, if he decided to join the Gunners instead.
Everton, however, currently have European ambitions of their own and will be hoping that qualification for the Europa League might be enough to convince their prized assets to remain at the Hill Dickinson as David Moyes continues to try and return the club back into the upper echelons of English football.