'Focused' - Fabrizio Romano issues update on Marcus Rashford's Manchester United future
The Man Utd loanee grabbed the headlines as FC Barcelona defeated Newcastle United in the Uefa Champions League.
Marcus Rashford was the star of the show as Barcelona defeated Newcastle 2-1 in their opening match of the Champions League.
The 27-year-old bagged a brace on his return to England, just months after he left Manchester United on loan in the summer transfer window. Rashford opened the scoring with a bullet header and then scored a spectacular second with a driven shot from the edge of the box.
Rashford was frozen out at United under head coach Ruben Amorim after he was dropped for the Manchester derby win over Man City late last year due to 'performance issues'. The forward then revealed he was ready for a 'new challenge' and subsequently joined Aston Villa on loan in the January transfer window.
A few eyebrows were raised when Barcelona made a move to sign Rashford after they had missed out on Liverpool star Luis Diaz and Athletic Club ace Nico Williams, but he has enjoyed a bright start to life with his new club. Rashford is only on loan at Barcelona, though the Catalan club have the option to buy him permanently for £26 million (€30 million) next summer.
It is still unclear what the long-term future holds for Rashford and transfer reporter Fabrizio Romano admits it is still too early to see what will happen come the end of the season.
Writing in his latest GIVEMESPORT newsletter, Romano was asked whether there was a chance the striker could return to Manchester next summer. "At the moment there is nothing at all about this," he said. "Rashford is focused on Barcelona and Manchester United on their own players. There are zero future plans."
Speaking after the win, Rashford reflected on his Player of the Match performance. "In the end it was the perfect night," he told broadcasters. "It is so difficult to come here and play the football you usually play, which I thought in the first-half we tried to do, and in the second-half we did really well. It is so difficult to win here. They make it very tough for us. It is an important victory and very good for the team."
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