Marcus Rashford has scored four goals in four months - so why are Barcelona so desperate to pay £26m for Man Utd loanee?

Barcelona have made a lot of shocking signings over the past decade - which is why they remain in such a precarious financial position - but taking full advantage of United's desperation to get rid of Rashford was an absolute masterstroke.

The England international may have suffered a dramatic dip in form at Old Trafford amid intense scrutiny of his supposedly unprofessional behaviour, but he'd shown enough during last season's six-month loan stay at Aston Villa to suggest that he was determined to get his career back on track away from intense scrutiny that comes with playing for your hometown club.

Indeed, that positive loan spell in Birmingham helped convince Barca sporting director Deco that Rashford was very much a risk worth taking, pretty much a free hit, in fact, as United were willing to let him leave on loan with an option to buy.

According to reports, the brains trust at INEOS now deeply regret the terms of that deal - and one could certainly understand why. Removing Rashford from the wage bill was priority No.1, as doing so even just for a solitary season saved United approximately £15m ($20m). However, the loan deal should have been either 'dry' or the option to buy much higher, because €30m is looking like a bargain for Barca.

Looking at it from a purely sporting perspective, Barcelona are getting what they wanted out of Rashford.

The forward line pretty much picked itself last season, with Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal forming one of the most devastating attacking triumvirates in world football. However, Hansi Flick felt he lacked a top-quality alternative to Raphinha on the left wing - particularly as the coach was intrigued by the idea of moving the Brazilian into the No.10 role.

Rashford fit the bill perfectly and also came with the added bonus of being able to play up front if required. The importance of the favourable financial conditions of the deal cannot be downplayed, though, because Rashford was so keen to move to Camp Nou that he was willing to take a pay cut, making his signing an absolute no-brainer in Deco's eyes.

"He did a very good job at Villa," the ex-Barca midfielder told SPORT. "In fact, Aston Villa, they would have kept him if it had been possible. I know this because I've spoken to people there.

"But he only wanted to come to Barca, and that's a very positive thing. The fact that he accepted a lower salary to make it happen is a clear demonstration of how much he wanted to come, and we're very happy about that. He's a player who contributes a lot to the team."

Rashford has certainly played the role of Raphinha's understudy well. He's only started 13 games in La Liga, and yet has chipped in with 12 goal involvements, while he's proven particularly useful in the Champions League (five goals, four assists). Indeed, ahead of Wednesday's last-16 first leg at Newcastle, it's worth remembering that Rashford's Barca career pretty much took off at St. James' Park six months ago, when he bagged a brace in the Blaugrana's 2-1 win on Tyneside.

They were a couple of great goals too, with Rashford opening the scoring with a terrific header before doubling his team's advantage with a thumping strike from distance that struck the underside of the crossbar on its way in.

"Marcus is spectacular," team-mate Ronald Araujo enthused afterwards. "He does the same things in training. We're very happy to have him with us, because he has a lot of quality."

One could easily argue that Rashford has not quite hit the same heights since his last visit to St. James' Park, and it's worth noting that he's only scored four times in the past four months. However, Raphinha's return to action after the November international break is a mitigating factor in that regard, as he remains the undisputed leader of this Barca side.

Flick has also been quick to point out that Rashford's reaction to spending more and more time on the bench has been exemplary.

"I try to speak to every player when they are not selected," the German recently explained, "and the last time I checked with Marcus he replied to me, 'Boss, you don’t have to explain your decisions to me. The most important thing is the team. We have to get the three points. The rest is not that important.'

"This is the perfect mentality - and why I am so happy to have him. When he is on the bench, he shows that we have a good and deep squad. What I can say is that he is an absolutely professional player. In the beginning, he had to adapt a little bit, but now he is at his best level."

As is nearly always the case with Rashford - at least since his sensational 2022-23 season with United and England - there's always the nagging feeling that he could be doing more. Back in October, Thomas Tuchel touched on the fact that it's more than a little worrying that we're still waiting for Rashford to realise his full potential at 28 years of age.

"He can be one of the best in the world," the Three Lions coach told reporters. "The quality I see in training, the finishing with both legs and with the head. He is explosive, he is fast, he is strong in the air, so where are the limits? There are no limits.

"But the numbers don't reflect the potential. He needs to push himself. That means more goals and assists. And he's been told that by me."

But also by Flick, who has also used that dreaded word 'potential' when referring to Rashford.

"I'm delighted with him," the former Bayern Munich boss said. "But with his speed and technique, he can give us so much more. I want everyone to be at their best and that's about mentality, attitude during training... That’s what we want to see. Always striving to be better."

Flick, though, has never said anything to suggest that he doesn't want to continue working with Rashford next season. On the contrary, he's been quite open about the fact that he'd like to see him join on a permanent transfer, while at the same time being very respectful of Barca's budgetary constraints.

The thing is, though, retaining Rashford would be a shrewd move by Barca no matter what.

Rashford's performances in the past couple of weeks certainly could have been better, but his market value has already increased since his arrival in Catalunya, meaning Barca would be wise to take up their option to sign the attacker for just €30m as they would then be in a position to almost certainly sell him at a profit to a Premier League club before the close of the summer transfer window.

Rashford obviously doesn't want that, though. He's said time and time again that he would like nothing more than to extend his stay at Camp Nou. He has always spoken glowingly of his coach, his team-mates, the club and the city, while he's also thrown himself into trying to learn the language. He's also earned the respect of a lot of people at Barca with the way he's performed on the field, and conducted himself off it. 

"He has everything," Lewandowski told Sky Sports only last week. "He has speed, he has technique, he has a shot, he has left foot, right foot, skills. Marcus is a guy if you give him confidence and he sees that you believe in him, he can give you back 200 percent."

He could certainly help Barcelona double their money this summer, but it's not those numbers that concern him. As Tuchel pointed out, what Rashford needs are even more goals and assists - because we already know that signing him makes financial sense for the Blaugrana, but the only way he'll definitely get to stay at Camp Nou is if it makes sporting sense too.