Marcus Rashford is the next target on Tottenham Hotspur’s transfer wish list this summer.
Free-spending Tottenham are determined to get their business done early after signing Jan Paul van Hecke from Brighton for £52m last week and making an opening £80m bid for Sandro Tonali, which was rejected by Newcastle United.
Proven Premier League players are top priority over younger, more inexperienced starlets from abroad for Spurs. Rashford fits the bill perfectly. He has taken his good form into the World Cup, and is affordable.
The i Paper understands that while Tottenham would not be willing to match the £40m release clause Manchester United and Rashford have agreed upon, relating to the price Aston Villa were required to meet to make their loan permanent last year, they are exploring a lower offer.
At this stage, Rashford’s preference would be to move abroad again – preferably back to Barcelona, or to Bayern Munich, who are also monitoring the 28-year-old’s progress – or return to United and resurrect his boyhood dreams. Moving to another Premier League club is currently not on his radar.
However, it is understood that United’s position on the player, who they would prefer to move on to save on his astronomical wages, will force Rashford to reconsider his stance.
United sources are adamant the club will not engage with Barcelona over another loan deal, after the Catalan giants elected not to activate the £26m option to make his loan stay in Barcelona a permanent one.
Had it not been for Rashford’s wages, clubs would likely be queuing up for a player who was reborn at Barca last season. Spurs boss Roberto De Zerbi is understood to be a huge fan and will push the club’s hierarchy to agree some form of deal.
Rashford will certainly have to take a substantial pay cut to secure his next move, something he is more than willing to do for the right step at a crucial juncture in his career.
United are set to have a busy summer too and could use the funds to reinvest into other areas of the squad.
A move for Atalanta’s Ederson is a matter of when, with the World Cup slowing matters. Attentions remain fixed on securing that second central midfield option. Talks are ongoing with West Ham’s in-demand Mateus Fernandes, but the fee being demanded for the Portuguese star is currently putting United off.
Elliot Anderson remains their top pick, but a move to Manchester City is expected to accelerate in the coming weeks, for what could be a British transfer record.
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Crysencio Summerville, who impressed for the Netherlands in their thrashing of Sweden at the World Cup on Saturday, is another West Ham player United are pursuing. Another winger remains one of their priorities this window.
The club’s hierarchy are determined to remain sensible in this transfer market and if the price tag gets beyond their means, they will look at other options.
Spurs, it seems, are more willing to loosen the purse strings and splash the cash this window. Rashford, should a wage structure be agreed, could represent good value for money.