You can tell that we are nearing another another lull in the domestic Premier League fixture list and that we will soon find ourselves in another international break, as Marcus Rashford is again being linked with a potential summer move to French Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain.
It is not the first time that the transfer rumour mill has claimed that PSG have an interest in the 26 year old, 59 capped England international striker, and the only thing that really seems to have changed this time is that we are now hearing talk of a potential £80 million bid for his services, and the suggestion that they are willing to offer him a contract worth a cool £500,000 a week to tempt him to cross the Channel.
As fans will be keenly aware of, our former Academy graduate only penned a new long term five year deal last summer that sees him through until at least the summer of 2028, and that was worth a reported £350,000 a week wage, and Rashford himself is already well on record as stating that he has no great desire to leave Old Trafford, and that he is simply fully focused on his form for us as we continue to look for further improvement under manager Erik ten Hag and fans will also have their eyes on the champions league betting for next season and be hoping that Rashford can fire us there.
It was only last month that he released a statement insisting that he was still fully committed to the club, was determined to improve his form, and he tried to silence his critics by stating that his desire to play for his hometown club should never be questioned.
No doubt somewhat fuelling the return of this speculation is the fact that it is not unfair to say that he has struggled this season, both in terms of his on pitch performance levels which he would freely acknowledge, but he has also been in hot water off the pitch with our Dutch gaffer following the events in Belfast that then saw him miss training and our FA Cup tie with Newport County.
Irrespective of all that though, with it being reported that French international striker Kylian Mbappe has already agreed a deal to join La Liga giants Real Madrid at the end of the current campaign, if the speculation is right and can be believed, it seems that PSG Chairman and CEO Nasser Al-Khelafi still sees Rashford as Mbappe’s long term successor at the Park des Princes.
It is still claimed that we value Rashford at around the £100 million mark, but with his brother and agent, Dane, being spotted in Paris in previous weeks, it was probably only inevitable that it would set some tongues wagging again. Add that to the fact that he has only scored seven goals for us this year in his 34 appearances across all competitions, there will be those who feel that we should cash in and reinvest the money as Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s plans take shape.
However, Ten Hag himself very quickly rubbished the speculation, restating that Rashford remained a key part of his long term plans at the club, and that was demonstrated by the long term deal he was offered last summer.
“We didn’t re-sign him last season for four years to a new contract with the intention to sell him. No. He should be part of this project. It’s not a subject we talk about.”
With two goals in his last two games, Ten Hag will be hoping that his pace and finishing touch stays with him as we welcome Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side to the Theatre of Dreams this coming Sunday for our FA Cup quarter final clash, as if he can find the back of the net in that one and make it three from three, that would go a long way to answering the question of whether he is now back on track in terms of his form.