Manchester United pariah Marcus Rashford made his preference for his next move clear after the England international opened the scoring with a sensational free-kick after his side won La Liga against arch-rivals Real Madrid.
“I’m not a magician,” Rashford said. “But if that happens, I will stay (at Barcelona). You will understand that. I came here to win. I want to win as much as possible. This is one more thing to add to this.”
“This is a great team. They’re going to win a lot in the future. It’s going to be special to be a part of it.”
Truth be told, Rashford’s talent was never in doubt, but during his time at United he realized that he was not suited for certain systems such as Ruben Amorim’s.
Things have settled in his favor at Barcelona, but circumstances outside of his control could affect whether he takes up the £26m buy option on his loan deal.
With that in mind, we dug into Machine Football’s database to assess the best options for Rashford’s next move.
1. “Dream” transfer: Barcelona
This is Rashford’s favorite move and it’s easy to see why. First of all, his 14 goals and 14 assists in all competitions, despite starting just 16 league games, is nothing to laugh at.
And while Rashford’s pressing has been criticized throughout his career, Barcelona’s superiority in possession provides relief and allows him to focus on the direct, instinctive qualities that make him so effective when he is in good form.
Unsurprisingly, Rashford has also grown close with his new team-mates. Despite receiving criticism for his performances this season when he replaced Rafinha on the left during two injuries, Rashford is generally a good fit for Barça, and this is backed up by Machine Football’s cohesion data.
The model used here classifies Barcelona’s system as an “attacking engine”, focused on putting constant pressure on the opponent through high possession and chance creation.
Machine Football Cohesion Graphic: Rashford scores in excellent coordination with Barcelona’s midfield and attacking team (Image: Machine Football)
Other examples of this system include PSG and Manchester City, where it blends well with the kind of system Rashford developed at United during Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s two full seasons in charge.
Rashford has grown by working with Barcelona’s top-level creators, as seen here in the elite cohesion score (a measure of a player’s compatibility and effectiveness when connecting) between Rashford and Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo, Pedri and Frenkie de Jong.
Considering Rashford’s confidence has fluctuated in recent years, it makes a lot of sense for him to stay long-term with a team where he feels comfortable.
Unfortunately for him, Rashford’s salary, Barcelona’s financial constraints and the inherent risk involved in offering a 28-year-old a long-term deal to help with amortization means the Blaugrana could opt for younger players in their attacking rotation.
2. PSG – Familiar Profile
PSG play a very similar style to Barcelona, and with Bradley Barcola’s future uncertain, the European champions could be looking for other options to play across the line.
Rashford already matches up well with one of Paris’ key attackers, Hviča Kvaratskhelia.
Both players are rated as “Dynamic 7” in machine football. This means a player who has finishing moves, but who can drag his team down the pitch with his ball-carrying and counter-attacking threats, rather than dictating the play of other players.
With flying full-backs and a throaty midfield of Vicinha and Joao Neves, PSG’s forwards are free to threaten the defense, something Rashford in his prime can still do.
Machine Football player profile comparison: Rashford could be a valuable replacement for Kuvaratschelia (Image: Machine Football)
He would be another option for the team in Paris, as he was at Barcelona, but Machine Football actually rated his finishing higher than Kvaratschelia, suggesting he could continue to influence games from the bench.
However, concerns remain about his pressing. PSG used a man-to-man system against Liverpool and Bayern Munich this season, but I doubt Rashford can be trusted to do this.
3. Bayern Munich – Who is a cheaper alternative to Anthony Gordon?
Machine Football Unity: Anthony Gordon looks like a perfect fit for Bayern Munich (Image: Machine Football)
Like Barcelona, Bayern play pedal-to-the-pedal football with an ‘attacking engine’ model, and their connection with Anthony Gordon suggests that the Bayern team is looking for a left-sided attacker to compete with Luis Diaz.
However, Gordon is valued at around €87m (about £75m) by the Machine Football model and, similar to Yann Diomande, Bayern could potentially lower the price of his transfer.
Machine Football Unity: Marcus Rashford would be a great fit for Bayern as Gordon’s replacement (Image: Machine Football)
Rashford offers an interesting and more cost-effective alternative. Like Dias, he tends to stream with his right foot and is a strong ball carrier and finisher, but being only a year younger, it is questionable whether Bayern are willing to compromise on pressing attributes to make the Colombian player stand out.
Still, Rashford scores high for his hypothetical chemistry with Michael Oliseh, Joshua Kimmich and Jamal Musiala, and has already been linked with Harry Kane from England squad duty.
As a ‘dynamic 7’, in contrast to Gordon’s ‘sharp 7’ profile, Rashford would be less off the ball and in terms of creativity, but surrounded by such creative richness he could be successful in terms of end product, and a much cheaper price tag could tempt Bayern.
4. Liverpool – Best, worst idea!
It’s clear that will never happen, but according to the machine football model, Liverpool are actually best suited for Rashford. This summer, the Merseyside club will lose their main goal scorer of the past decade in Mohamed Salah.
Rashford and Salah naturally play on opposite flanks, but the gap between them is not as strict as it appears, with Rashford being used on Barcelona’s right flank this season.
Rashford will serve as an alternative to Salah’s scoring goals from wider areas and will be expected to improve on the Egyptian’s just seven goals in the league this season.
However, the two are completely different players. Even during the downturn, Salah has functioned as the team’s creative fulcrum as a sharp seven, with six assists in this season’s league games.
Machine Football player profile comparison: Rashford could pose a bigger goal threat than Mohamed Salah this season (Image: Machine Football)
Liverpool have already lost the creativity of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson is set to leave, so big changes are needed.
If this plan works, Florian Wirtz and Dominik Szoboszlai could take on this role, potentially increasing the profile of Rashford.
5. Other teams in the Premier League – Aston Villa, Newcastle, Arsenal
Another option if Rashford is most interested in starting the game would be to move to another Premier League team, but there are few candidates.
Arsenal have long been desperate for depth on the left and Rashford could arguably provide the Gunners with a much-needed end product from those areas, but he would not be well-suited to the creativity the London side needs.
Eberechi Eze has performed well in this position recently, and it seems unlikely that Arsenal would spend a big salary on another player who doesn’t directly solve that problem.
Newcastle may also be interested in Gordon if he moves, but the Magpies prefer a high-octane pressing style and recently moved Joelinton out wide to give him more physical strength, so this also seems an unlikely destination.
Aston Villa, on the other hand, are in need of more goal threat as they have scored just 50 goals in the league this season and rely on individual moments of quality to win games.
Rashford scored four goals and provided six assists in half a season at Villa before being loaned to Barcelona, but the Villans rejected the chance to sign him for £40 million.
While Villa are capable of playing the final ball out wide, they have struggled to create a sustained flow of play this season, with a machine football build-up rating of just 39.27 out of 100, fifth lowest in the league.
Rashford himself cannot solve this problem, nor is it an ideal environment for him to develop.
6. Manchester United?
While some supporters are fed up with Rashford and a new attack has been effective in his absence, the academy graduate is technically still a United player.
And with Amorim gone, there is a possibility that Michael Carrick, who is likely to become the next permanent manager, will try to bring Amorim back.
The sale price is unlikely to deviate significantly from the amount agreed with Barcelona, and if he returns to top form, this could actually be the most valuable outcome for United and Rashford.
Carrick built his attack around Middlesbrough’s Finn Azaz (another ‘dynamic seven’ when playing out wide), but he thrived on Boro’s ‘possession builder’ system, driving centrally and exploiting the overload of sustained possession.
Azaz contributed 23 goals in Carrick’s final season at North East, but Rashford, an elite ball-carrying and dribbling player, will be even better suited.
The off-the-ball weaknesses exposed by Amorim’s transition football are less of an issue in a system like this.
If he has good players around him and both player and club can put their differences aside, Rashford could actually be back to his best once United return.
This is a big “what if” question, but it provides food for thought.
