Rash matches to keep Barca dream alive

ON LOAN FORWARD WILL AIM TO SHOW WHAT HE CAN DO ON BIG STAGE AGAINST PSG TO SEAL HIS IDEAL PERMANENT EXIT FROM UNITED

- By TYRONE MARSHALL

IT doesn’t take much of an imagina- tion to picture Marcus Rashford lin- ing up against Aston Villa in the Champions League next month rather than playing for them against Paris St Germain in a mouth-water- ing quarter-final.

Rashford’s camp flirted with PSG on several occasions during his United career, most notably when his brother Dwaine held a meeting with PSG officials in August 2022. At that time, he had less than a year left on his contract, with the option for a further year.

United weren't interested in doing business, and Rashford went on to have his best season for the club, earning that £350,000-a-week, five-year contract, but then never hit those heights again.

The Paris rendezvous in 2022 further soured relations between Rashford and his boyhood club, and Ruben Amorim drew a line in the sand towards the end of last year. A reunion now looks almost impossible, and the 27-year-old academy graduate will almost certainly be sold permanently this summer.