^ ^ Marcus Rashford’s ‘dream club’ respond to rumours they want to sign him from Man Utd

Marcus Rashford is reportedly ‘dreaming’ of a move to Barcelona in the summer transfer window (Picture: Getty)

Barcelona sporting director Deco has confirmed the club are admirers of wantaway Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford.

Rashford revealed he was keen for a fresh challenge away from Old Trafford back in mid-December and the United academy product has spent the second half of the season on loan at Aston Villa.

While Ruben Amorim had been heavily critical of Rashford’s application and work ethic on the training ground, the 27-year-old has been playing with a smile on his face again at Villa Park.

Rashford is clearly enjoying his time under Unai Emery and has been open to the prospect of joining Villa on a permanent basis when the transfer window opens for business.

But Barca are said to be Rashford’s ‘dream club’ this summer and the England international’s camp have reportedly held initial discussions over a proposed switch to the Camp Nou.

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Rashford has even enlisted the help of super-agent Pini Zahavi to get a deal over the line with the newly crowned La Liga champions

Barca have also been credited with a strong interest in Liverpool’s Luis Diaz and Deco did little to quieten speculation that the Premier League duo could end up in Catalonia during an interview on RAC1.

Rashford was frozen out of United’s first-team squad by Amorim (Picture: Getty)

Barcelona ‘like’ United attacker Rashford, says Deco (Picture: Getty)

‘We like Luis and we like Rashford,’ the former Barcelona, Chelsea and Portugal midfielder told the Catalan radio station.

‘However, we can’t talk about players who are under contract.

‘For me, it’s much more important to improve what we have at home.’

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Despite his admiration for both Diaz and Rashford, Deco insists Barca are more than capable of competing with the best, even when Robert Lewandowski is missing.

‘We have players like Ferran [Torres] who can play there, we’ve played with Dani [Olmo] as a false nine,’ he explained.

‘Today, this squad has internal solutions when Robert is not there.

‘Talking about a striker only seems like looking for a replacement for Robert, but today you have a team that has a fixed No.9, which is Inter, with [Marcus] Thuram.

Rashford still has three years left on his contract at Old Trafford (Picture: Getty)

‘PSG don’t have one, Arsenal don’t have one. Today we have one, which is Lewandowski, and there are players in the squad who can play there like Ferran, who has had a spectacular season.’

Real Madrid are expected to spend big after a desperately disappointing final season under Carlo Ancelotti – and Deco says Barcelona have to be prepared for a ‘more difficult’ challenge against their bitter rivals.

‘I think Madrid is looking for a balanced squad,’ he added.

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‘When you’re not winning, it’s normal to want to find balance and what you have to improve.

‘We know we’re going to have to improve to continue competing. We’re excited because next season is going to be more difficult.’

Rashford still has three years remaining on his £315,000-a-week contract at United, the club he joined at the age of just seven.

Recent reports claimed the Red Devils had set an asking price of £40million for the attacker.

It’s understood Rashford would be willing to accept a significant pay cut to push through a move to Barcelona.

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