Barcelona plot lowball Marcus Rashford offer as La Liga champions refuse to match Man Utd's asking price and line up Luis Diaz and Gabriel Martinelli as alternatives

Rashford's hopes of securing a move to Barcelona this summer have taken a hit as the La Liga champions are not willing to meet United's €40 million (£34m/$44m) asking price, according to Sport. Their report claims the Catalan giants could offer between €5m to €10m for a one-year loan, but they do not want to part with a significant amount of cash for Rashford as they would rather invest in a player like Liverpool's Luis Diaz. Arsenal's Gabriel Martinelli is another option.

Rashford effectively has no future at United under Ruben Amorim, having left the club to join Aston Villa on loan in January. However, his contract at Old Trafford still has another three years to run and the Red Devils want to extract a transfer fee that befits a player who has scored 17 goals in 62 appearances for England.

If Rashford were to join Barcelona, he would find himself competing with Raphinha for a spot in Hansi Flick's team. The Brazilian is one of the main candidates for the 2025 Ballon d'Or after leading the Blaugrana to a domestic treble.

Rashford will hope his future is resolved quickly, but Barcelona's financial state may rule them out of the running, especially if they decide to prioritise a permanent arrival like Diaz.