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Only six days to go until the transfer window swings shut and it would appear that Marcus Rashford still has his heart set on a move to Barcelona.
The forward’s future at Manchester United looks bleaker than ever after boss Ruben Amorim said he would rather pick his 63-year-old goalkeeper coach than the England star.
But as Rashford waits on Barca in the hope that the Catalan giants can find room on their roster and space in the wage bill to accommodate a significant portion of his £315,000-a-week salary, there is a danger that other doors may close on him.
A number of clubs remain interested in Rashford, notably Borussia Dortmund who are understood to have come up with the best package if he would be more open to a move to the Bundesliga.
Tottenham, West Ham, Juventus, Napoli and Galatasaray are among the others ready to offer him an escape route from Old Trafford for the remainder of the season.
Monaco are believed to have taken a step back and Fenerbahce’s vice-president, the Hull City owner Acun Ilicali, said on Tuesday that the 27-year-old is not under consideration for Jose
Mourinho’s side either. Arsenal have ruled themselves out of the running.
Do Rashford and his representatives, brothers Dwaine Maynard and Dane Rashford, hold their nerve and wait for Barcelona in the short time remaining in the transfer window, or take one of the other offers on the table?
If the gamble backfires, the England forward could face a long four months in the cold at United trying to convince Amorim that he deserves a second chance.
Touts to blame for Rangers chaos
The initial findings of United’s internal investigation into the problems that saw a number of Rangers fans infiltrate areas of Old Trafford reserved for home supporters last week have showed that widespread ticket touting was to blame.
It became apparent during United’s 2-1 Europa League win that tickets for the Battle of Britain tie had fallen into the wrong hands amid concerns that United season-ticket holders may have passed them on.
However, Confidential has learned that the majority of the rogue Rangers fans picked them up from ticket websites that use bots posing as members to buy up tickets and re-sell them at higher prices.
United have introduced digital ticketing since similar issues arose against Galatasaray in the Champions League in October 2023, which involves tighter measures including QR codes being issued three hours before kick-off.
But sources indicate the practice is difficult to prevent because the touts can bypass the system by passing on the codes or selling log-in details.
The problem is understood to exist at most United games – and other matches and events around the country – but it was particularly noticeable last Thursday because Rangers fans are more vocal than most and Greater Manchester Police corralled the individuals into one group close to the Rangers away end for security purposes.
Around 10,000 Rangers fans are estimated to have travelled down, despite only having 3,700 tickets in the away end.
United have used the data available to them to track down accounts linked to the tickets and impose sanctions. A smaller number of season-ticket holders were also found to be responsible, and the club are still investigating to find out where some Uefa tickets ended up. (www.dailymail.co.uk)
Online Reporter