An update on Marcus Rashford's future at Barcelona has emerged amid news involving manager Hansi Flick.
Rashford signed on loan for the Blaugrana in the summer after being frozen out at his beloved Manchester United - resulting in a loan to Aston Villa for the backend of last season.
He moved on to pastures new in Catalonia and has been in fine form in his new surroundings, with seven goals and 11 assists in 23 games in all competitions.
Rashford has operated on the left flank and through the middle for Barca and appears to be a shoo-in for Thomas Tuchel's England squad at the World Cup next summer.
Advert
He appears to have a strong relationship with Flick, who has the complete support of the Barcelona board - to the point that the club are poised to break tradition with him.
According to a report from BILD, via Goal, Barca are "preparing a concrete offer to extend Flick’s stay well beyond his current deal" until 2028.
The club do not typically offer fresh terms to a manager in the middle of the season and would prefer to wait until the end of he campaign - but are said to be delighted by the work Flick is doing.
What's more, they are also extremely happy by how Rashford has performed since signing on loan.
Barca have the option to sign Rashford permanently for a fee of £28 million and according to a report from Mundo Deportivo, the chances of that happening have improved considerably.
They are more likely to sign him than not, though his response to the return to fitness of Raphinha in the second half of the campaign will prove key.
The report states: "His candidacy to be signed permanently next summer and become a Barça player has increased, although his performance in the second and decisive part of the season remains to be seen, as does his reaction to playing less now that Raphinha is fully recovered and back to his best. In any case, the reality is that he has adapted very well to the club and the team, and there is internal satisfaction with the results of his loan in these first few months of the season."
Rashford has been enjoying life on and off the pitch at Barca, describing his experience as "amazing" and stating that "the biggest club in Spain is a huge honour".
Speaking about his situation recently, sporting director Deco told Cadena SER that it is "not the time to make any decision regarding Rashford's future" but the stressed that the club are "happy with him" and enjoying seeing the forward "contributing a lot to the team".
Topics: Marcus Rashford, Barcelona, FC Barcelona
Josh Lawless