Marcus Rashford will get more minutes at Barcelona after Rafinha’s injury, but has been warned that another player could take his place if he fails to perform.
Hansi Flick takes on Marcus Rashford as he looks to improve (Image: Angel Martinez, Getty Images)
Manager Hansi Flick has told Marcus Rashford that now is the time for him to step up for Barcelona, but revealed that he has other options in attack as he looks to replace Raphinha.
The Manchester United loanee is aiming for a permanent move to Camp Nou and could start a few games with Raphinha unavailable. Rashford has been an excellent team player, given the quality Barcelona have up front.
The Englishman has scored 10 goals for the Spanish side, who are top of La Liga and aiming to qualify for the Champions League. Rashford has come a long way from being an inconsistent player in Manchester.
But without Raphinha, the team’s second-highest scorer this term, Flick would like to see Rashford step up, but he has no doubt that other players can fill the void if he doesn’t reach the level he expects.
The Barcelona manager said: “I’m happy because Marcus showed a good performance. In the last few weeks he had some problems and was injured, so we had to take care of that. Now he has a chance to play again, but we have There are other options (to replace Rafinha). Fermin (Lopez) can play there, Gabi can play there too. We will see. We have more options.
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Rashford hopes to persuade Barcelona to pay him a £26m fee to make his loan move permanent. His future at Old Trafford remains uncertain and a potential return would leave him in limbo, especially with no long-term manager in place yet.
His current teammate Raphinha was given time off to recover from his injury at a premature end of the season with several important games coming up. The Brazilian will miss the match against Atletico Madrid, the Champions League quarter-finals and potentially the semi-finals.
Rafinha injured in match against Brazil
“This is not the best time for this injury, for us or for him,” Flick said. “He was sad about this, but we are not happy.” Flick, along with sporting director Deco, decided to let Rafinha spend some time in his homeland.
“I talked to him on FaceTime and he was very disappointed and very depressed. So I decided with Deco that I could (spend time in Brazil),” he said. “Normally we want players to come here, but he’s in good shape and maybe he can clear his mind and come back this weekend and start on Monday. That’s why we gave him a few days in Brazil with his family to clear his mind. That was obvious to us.”
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