Manchester United have blocked a request from Inter Milan about Marcus Rashford’s availability this summer according to a mystifying report from Italy.
The English forward seemed destined to leave his boyhood club in this transfer window after finding no place in Ruben Amorim’s squad last season.
He enjoyed a modestly successful loan spell at Aston Villa but the Midlands club declined the option to make the move permanent come the end of the campaign, landing the player back at Old Trafford.
With United looking at a dramatic squad overhaul and funds tight after missing out on Champions League qualification, it was assumed that they would encourage bids for almost any player – particularly those exiled under Amorim.
But Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport today make an eyebrow-raising claim that United actively rebuffed a preliminary approach from Inter Milan.
They claim that Cristian Chivu’s side contacted the Red Devils asking about the lay of the land with the notoriously available player, but “the request for information from the Nerazzurri club for Rashford was denied.”
The club have historically been awful at making good money from player sales and it was hoped that INEOS would look to turn this record around.
But actively blocking a request for information makes little sense as a bargaining tactic and could even hint at a desire to keep hold of the 27-year-old in what would be a staggering U-turn from club and manager.
Reports broke yesterday that the player is one of four to have no place in Amorim’s squad for the pre-season tour of the USA, alongside Antony, Jadon Sancho and Alejandro Garnacho.
Claims also emerged that Inter are keen on a loan move for Rashford and had “tentatively enquired” about such a deal, but today’s report would cast doubt on that.
Rashford is believed to be holding out for a move to Barcelona, but the Catalan side do not seem to be interested in bringing him to the Nou Camp.
United’s decision not to even give Inter information – which would suggest they shut down the conversation even before any discussions of loaning or buying would have taken place – is intriguing and adds another new twist to the player’s eventful Old Trafford career.
Feature image Michael Regan via Getty Images
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Joe Ponting Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried.
