'Frustrated' Man Utd officials regret striking Marcus Rashford transfer agreement with Barcelona

Rashford has put his Manchester United troubles behind him at Barcelona and has played a key role for Flick's side. The forward has 10 goals and 10 assists in 34 appearances in all competitions for the Catalan giants despite not being first choice. Injuries to Raphinha have handed Rashford the chance to impress Flick and he has drawn praise from the Barcelona coach for his performances. Flick has said: "What I can say, he's an absolute professional player. His attitude, mentality is great. In the beginning, he had to adapt a little bit, but now he's on his best level. I speak with the players when they're not playing, explaining why, and what he said to me the last day was, 'Boss, you don't have to tell me this, it's only about the team. We have to win three points, nothing else is important'. It's the right attitude. The mentality he has is fantastic and I am really happy he is here."

Barcelona are believed to be eager to make Rashford's loan deal permanent and have been in talks with United to try and reduce their asking price, but the Red Devils are not willing to budge when it comes to the 28-year-old.

Manchester United have even become "frustrated" with the deal they struck with Barcelona after seeing Rashford shine in Catalunya, according to The Mirror. Club chiefs now think that Barcelona could be getting Rashford on the cheap this summer as they feel he is now worth around £50 million (€57m). The Red Devils have also been made aware that other clubs are showing interest in Rashford and want to sign the England star ahead of the summer transfer window.

There has also been speculation that Rashford could be lured back to Manchester United if Michael Carrick stays on as manager, but co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is said to be still determined to offload the forward and get him off the wage bill.

Rashford spoke about his future in December and made it clear he wants to continue his career at Barcelona past the end of the season. He told Sport: "Of course what I want is to stay at Barça. It’s an end goal, but it’s not the reason why I’m training hard and giving it my best. The purpose is to win. Barça is a huge, fantastic club, built to win titles. I’m adapting very well to the club and the city. From the moment I arrived I felt that everyone welcomed me very well. For me, the reason I’m here is to help the team win trophies; Last season was fantastic, but in life everything happens very quickly, things change and the goal is to repeat the successes. I’m totally focused on this. With the staff and the teammates everything is fantastic, I can’t complain."

Meanwhile, Barcelona sporting director Deco has insisted no decision has yet been taken on Rashford. He told Cadena SER in December: "Nothing has been decided with Marcus Rashford. It’s not the time to make decisions about the future. We’re happy with him, Rashford is giving us a lot. Strategically, it’s not the time to talk about signings."

Rashford is currently out injured with a knee problem but is expected to return soon and will hope he can continue his good form until the end of the season. Barcelona will then have a decision to make on whether to take up the purchase option on the forward. Yet it promises to be a difficult decision for the club. Financial issues continue to affect Barca's transfer planning and a new centre-forward may be needed if Robert Lewandowski departs in the summer at the end of his contract. Barcelona's defensive issues have also been highlighted in recent defeats to Atletico and Girona, and may make strengthening the backline more of a priority than retaining Rashford.