The summer transfer market is coming to its final days and Marcus Rashford's future is still uncertain. Last season, when playing for Barcelona and playing quite well, it was thought that this striker would be bought outright by the Camp Nou team in the summer of 2026. However, the situation is truly ironic for Rashford when Barca spent 80 million Euros to buy Anthony Gordon from Newcastle, while the outright purchase price of "Doctor" was only 30 million Euros.
Since returning to training with Man United, Rashford has been warmly welcomed by fans in Ireland. He also does not feel distant when training with both old and new teammates. In the friendly match with AC Milan, the 28-year-old striker played for 30 minutes but did not leave too much of an impression. However, Rashford's diligence on the training ground has been highly appreciated by the coaching staff.
At this time, Rashford's future is still undecided, but the possibility of this striker staying at Old Trafford is very high. Besides not having any truly attractive offers, Rashford also feels that he will be given a chance by coach Carrick.
If Rashford stays, Man United's left wing position will have 3 factors, plus Matheus Cunha and Patrick Dorgu. In a season playing in 4 arenas, Carrick will definitely rotate weekly, even in each match. Dorgu is getting used to this position, so Rashford is completely confident in competing fairly with Cunha. If he does well, Carrick will not hesitate to give him a chance.
What Carrick needs to avoid is placing Rashford in the highest position in attack. When this striker first came to Barcelona, coach Hansi Flick suggested that Rashford could play center forward. The German coach said this is a role that can change between Rashford and Torres.
Finally, in the pre-season period last year, Barca had a 5-0 victory over Daegu FC. In that victory, Rashford scored 1 goal when playing center forward, so Flick had confidence. However, this plan was not successful and in the entire 2025-26 season, Rashford will only have 3 more matches playing in this position in La Liga.
Rashford was once considered again by Flick for the center forward position when Lewandowski was injured. However, when not using Torres, the German coach also did not trust Rashford and let Olmo play "false 9". This shows that although Rashford was once given the opportunity to play center forward, Rashford is not suitable and he needs to be returned to his right place.
Man United is preparing to get Carlos Baleba from Brighton, so the possibility of the team focusing on buying more strikers is increasingly low. The more urgent position is left-back when Luke Shaw seems to be alone after Patrick Dorgu is assigned to play attacking on top. As for the highest role in the attack, if not Benjamin Sesko, it will be Bryan Mbeumo or Joshua Zirkzee, so it should be considered temporarily stable.
This is the season that decides the final stage in Rashford's peak career. If he plays well, he is likely to go through his current contract until 2028 with a sky-high salary of £32.5 million/week. Conversely, if he is still listless, Rashford could be loaned out after only half a season. If he stays, he will also have to be a regular friend on the bench. In 2028, when his contract with Man United expires, Rashford will be 30 years old, so this time is extremely important to shape the rest of his career.
The only message at this point is to return Rashford to the left wing and find a way to revive this striker's form. Besides calculating for new signings, Carrick also needs to spend a lot of time dealing with Rashford's case, one of the highest-paid players in the club.
