'Complete bullsh*t' - Early Man Utd return for Marcus Rashford categorically rubbished amid talk of Barcelona cancelling loan deal

That assessment of the surprising speculation has been delivered by transfer expert Fabrizio Romano. He is stunned to discover that Rashford is seeing an early return to Old Trafford mooted.

The England international, who is back in the Three Lions fold at present, only completed a switch to Catalonia over the summer. The season-long loan agreement includes a €35 million (£30m/$41m) purchase option.

Rashford has made a slow start to life with La Liga giants Barca, with his only competitive start seeing him hauled off at half-time. Barcelona, though, have no intention of writing the 27-year-old off and packing his bags.

Romano has told his YouTube channel: “I don’t know where this story is coming from, to be honest I think it’s really a shame to see these kind of rumours. There’s absolutely zero into it. Barcelona are very happy with Rashford, very happy with the deal they did. It’s a loan with a buy option so for Barca even financially it’s not a big problem. They’re very happy with the attitude of Marcus Rashford.

“They are waiting obviously for Marcus to adapt, new football, new league, new city, new team-mates, after spending a lot of time always in the same country. So for Rashford it’s a big opportunity, he knows that. But they are completely aligned. They are starting this new chapter with optimism and confidence. So at the moment these reports of Barcelona terminating the loan deal early for Rashford is complete bullsh*t. There’s nothing at all in it.”

Rashford is still searching for the spark that he lost in Manchester. He shone briefly during a stint with Aston Villa last season, before picking up an injury, and is hoping to get his career back on track while working alongside the likes of Lamine Yamal and Robert Lewandowski.