Barcelona and Manchester United have reached a broad agreement in principle for Marcus Rashford's transfer to the Catalan club, with talks now at the final stages.
The deal structure involves an initial loan move with an option to buy.
Discussions are ongoing between the clubs, with negotiations centring on wage payment portions and potential compensation should Barcelona not exercise their purchase option.
The 27-year-old England forward has been given permission to speak with Barcelona after United accepted the loan proposal.
Getty | Marcus Rashford spent the second half of last season on loan at Aston VillaUnited would prefer a permanent transfer to raise funds for further signings, but have agreed to the loan arrangement given Rashford's determination to join Barcelona.
The forward earns £325,000 per week at Old Trafford, with previous loan deals seeing clubs pay portions of his wages.
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United have shown creativity with past loan departures. They profited from Jadon Sancho's wage structure at Borussia Dortmund through incentivised payments and received a £5 million penalty from Chelsea when they declined to make Sancho's move permanent.
Rashford has been training away from United's first team after being told by head coach Ruben Amorim that he does not feature in his plans at Old Trafford.
The forward has not played for United since facing Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League last December.
Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has given the green light for Rashford's signing after speaking with the player.
Rashford publicly expressed his desire to join Barcelona earlier this summer, telling a Spanish influencer: "Yes, for sure. Everyone wants to play with the best. Hopefully... we'll see," when asked about playing alongside Lamine Yamal.
Barcelona had initially pursued other attacking targets this summer before turning to Rashford.
The Catalans first attempted to sign Nico Williams from Athletic Club but were rebuffed when the Spain forward opted to sign a new contract.
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Reuters | Marcus Rashford could be on his way out of UnitedThey subsequently targeted Liverpool's Luis Díaz, but their advances were rejected with Liverpool insisting the Colombian was not for sale.
According to transfer guru David Ornstein, Barcelona have been looking for an attacker who can operate in wide areas and up front, which makes Rashford an attractive option.
The Wythenshawe-born player recently suggested in a YouTube interview that he could operate as a centre forward, potentially serving as understudy to Robert Lewandowski.
He would face fierce competition for wide positions from Lamine Yamal and Raphinha.
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