Marcus Rashford fell out of favor under Ruben Amorim and joined Barcelona on a season-long loan, but his successor Michael Carrick is open to his return to the club.
Marcus Rashford scores his ninth goal of the season against FC Copenhagen (Image: Getty Images)
Michael Carrick wants Marcus Rashford to return to Manchester United if he is appointed as the club’s next permanent manager.
Carrick has had a dream start as interim manager, replacing Ruben Amorim after he was sacked. The former midfielder has only managed two games but has scored two impressive wins against Manchester City and Arsenal.
As a result, there has already been speculation that Carrick will be offered a permanent position at the end of the season. And if that were to happen, the Telegraph reported that he would like to bring Rashford back into the Old Trafford squad.
Rashford was ostracized by Amorim, who said he would rather play with a 63-year-old goalkeeping coach than with an England international. He joined Aston Villa on loan at the end of the 2024/25 season before moving to Barcelona this season.
The La Liga giants have the option to make that deal permanent and there are all signs pointing to fulfilling the £26m clause. But Carrick, who played alongside Rashford for the final years of his playing career, still sees a place for himself at his boyhood club.
read more: Man United announce defender’s move ahead of January deadlineread more: Manchester United’s Michael Carrick speaks out about Joshua Zirkzee, confirms striker’s sending off
The report states that the player himself wants to remain at Barcelona, where he has scored nine goals and provided 12 assists so far.
Speaking after his goal in midweek in the Champions League, Rashford admitted it took him a while to adapt to Hansi Flick’s style of play.
“I think we need to put as much pressure on the ball as possible against the players up front, because the question is whether the players have the time to pick up the ball, pick a pass and see what the backline is doing,” he said.
“If they have time, the backline will have to adjust. But that’s the way we play and it brings intensity to the game. When we play with this intensity, I think it’s difficult for each team to match us.”
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“For me, it’s a bit of a learning curve to get used to because you can’t rest the man on the ball. The player closest to the ball has to put pressure on all the time. So it’s a little bit different from what I’ve done in the past. But this is our defensive style and when it works it’s really good.”
Flick has regularly praised Rashford and hinted that the final decision on his future will be made by sporting director Deco.
He said: “Marcus’ performances have been very good so far so we have to manage that, but it’s Deco’s job to do something for next season.”
“We have to wait. There are still many months. For me, of course we have a top-level player in Marcus, but we also take into account our situation and what I am very grateful to him for is (his desire to be here).”
Rashford played with Michael Carrick late in his playing career.
As for the season in January, United are unlikely to make any major departures, so it seems like they are planning to wait quietly without making any major moves. Joshua Zirkzee has been linked with a return to Italy, but manager Carrick says he wants him to remain at the club.
“Josh is just trying to stay fit and move through the group,” he explained on Friday. “It was great to have him back training with the group for the first time.
“That’s the limit for me and for Josh. I look forward to working with him. That’s it. I don’t need to say anything else.”
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