What does the future hold for Rashford?

Marcus Rashford didn’t give the impression of being consumed by concerns about his future as he trained in heat that climbed above 30C in Kansas City.

In fairness, now is not the time to have attention diverted by club matters. For the next month or so, Rashford’s concentration is on England.

On Sunday, at least for the 15 minutes when cameras were allowed in to film training, that meant linking up with Jude Bellingham, Ivan Toney, Djed Spence, Eberechi Eze and Anthony Gordon in a passing drill before Wednesday’s World Cup Group L opener against Croatia in Dallas.

The onus is on keeping the focus there. It was not as if Monday would bring any news Rashford was unaware of anyway.

The deadline Barcelona agreed with Manchester United to trigger a £26m clause to turn Rashford’s loan into a permanent deal passed without it being activated.

No-one expected any different.

On 1 July, when Rashford will hope to be preparing for a last-32 encounter in Atlanta, he will officially return to being a Manchester United player, with a £325,000-a-week contract that still has two years to run.

So, what happens now?

In theory, Rashford could return to his boyhood club and resume his career there.

Head coach Michael Carrick knows him well. Carrick has been a team-mate, coach and – for three games following Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s dismissal in 2021 – hands-on manager of one of the recent star graduates of United’s academy.

When Carrick was asked about Rashford in April, he said no decision had been made about the attacker’s future.

He added: “Whoever’s here, I want to work with them and help them to improve.”

It is not quite as simple as that.

Minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants to bring wage costs down and that is not simple when the highest earner is on such a huge sum.

In addition, United gave Rashford’s number 10 shirt to Matheus Cunha last season and are hardly likely to take it off the Brazilian.

The summer squad rebuilding plans are being pieced together in the belief Rashford will not be part of them.

Yet it is tricky. Twelve months ago, Ruben Amorim placed Rashford in his ‘bomb squad’ and told him to train at different times to the main group. He did the same with Jadon Sancho, Alejandro Garnacho, Antony and Tyrell Malacia.

Last week, world governing body Fifa announced a memorandum of understanding with global players’ union Fifpro. Within the detail, it was confirmed any player exiled from the main group can demand to be released – and to have their contracts paid up.

It is fair to assume ostracising Rashford this season is off the agenda.

Manchester United will probably hope Rashford has a good World Cup.

That would increase the number of clubs who are interested in him and widen the options of a deal.

Yet, as with any contractual situation of this nature, United cannot sell Rashford to a club he does not want to play for.

He has just won the Spanish title with Barcelona and reached the last eight of the Champions League.

Rashford clearly believes he can have a significant impact at the highest level of the game.

Bayern Munich were suggested as having an interest. And what about Aston Villa, where he spent the second half of the 2024-25 campaign? They have also qualified for the Champions League.

After staying at Manchester United, this is the option favoured by bookmakers.

Rashford scored 14 goals and claimed 14 assists during his season at Barcelona. He might not have started every week but he did make a significant contribution.

It is England team-mate Gordon’s arrival at the Nou Camp for £69.3m from Newcastle United that seems to have eased Rashford out. Yet, if Thomas Tuchel can find a space for both players in his national team squad, why can the same not be true of Hansi Flick?

Clearly, Barcelona are unwilling to pay £26m for him.

As it stands, United have no interest in negotiating a different deal.

But there is no time pressure just now.

That will only come in the three-week gap between England’s World Cup campaign reaching its conclusion and Rashford’s return to pre-season training. By then, goalkeeper Andre Onana, another player on a big contract United do not want, will have returned for pre-season and a template will potentially have been created that Rashford might follow.

Beyond that, the transfer window closes on 1 September.

At that point there will have to be a resolution for Rashford’s future.

For now, he can continue focusing on England.