Fabrizio Romano believes Marcus Rashford is now most likely to stay at Manchester United this summer, with the final three weeks of the transfer window approaching and no clear move gathering pace. For a club still trying to reshape its squad, that is a significant development.
Manchester United have already moved on a couple of fringe pieces this summer, selling Altay Bayindir on loan to Celta Vigo with a €4m option to buy and moving Radek Vitek to Middlesbrough with £14m add-ons included. But the bigger question around Rashford has remained unresolved, because he is one of the club's highest earners and United had hoped to remove that salary from their books.
Romano said United are now feeling there are “concrete, strong, likely chances” of Rashford staying at Old Trafford. He also added that there are “no movements with other clubs” at the moment and that Rashford is not accepting Turkey or Saudi, with those options not of interest to him at this stage of his career.
Why Rashford's future matters now
That leaves United with a decision that is as financial as it is football-related. If Rashford stays, the club carry one of their biggest wages into the new season, even though they had been hoping for an exit.
It also changes the shape of the final weeks of the window. United still want a third midfielder and a new left-back, but Newcastle's stance suggests Lewis Hall will not be available. That means there is still work to do, and fewer straightforward routes to improving the squad.
Romano's view is that Rashford's position is now pretty clear: “stay at Man Utd or a very top, top club at the very end of the window.” But he also stressed that, at this point, the most likely outcome is for the forward to remain at Manchester United.
Michael Carrick could be a factor
Romano also pointed to Michael Carrick as a possible influence on the situation, saying United believe Rashford has a really big chance to stay and revive his career with him. That is not a minor detail. When a player has been through a difficult period, the manager's willingness to give one more opportunity can matter.
Romano said Carrick would be “very happy” to continue with Rashford and to give him another chance. In practical terms, that suggests United are not forcing the issue, even if they would still prefer to create room in the squad and on the wage bill.
So the picture is simple enough. United still have business to do, but Rashford's future may no longer be the exit story many expected. Unless a very top club arrives late in the window, the strongest view right now is that he stays at Old Trafford.
