Marcus Rashford's agents hold crunch talks with Man Utd as Barcelona step up transfer plans

Marcus Rashford's representatives held a meeting with Manchester United on Wednesday to evaluate all the transfer options available to him, a report has claimed.

Rashford is free to leave United this month as the Red Devils seek to save money. A £40m permanent transfer is thought to be their preferred move, but the forward's mammoth wages have seen everyone involved agree that a loan is far more likely in January.

Clubs across Europe have been voicing interest in Rashford over the past few weeks and, according to SPORT, the 27-year-old's agents took all those options to United for a crunch meeting on Wednesday.

AC Milan are thought to have made the most concrete proposal, while Monaco and Borussia Dortmund are also keen. Barcelona, Rashford's preferred destination, are also exploring a move.

There has even been interest from the Premier League, where Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United have been linked, but it is believed that United will refuse to strengthen a direct rival and will instead look to send Rashford overseas.

Barcelona hope to win the race for Rashford's signature and are battling to convince the Englishman to delay a decision on his future as they need to sell players to free up the salary space to add Rashford to their squad.

Interestingly, that financial relief could be provided by United, who have reached out to Barcelona to discuss a move for centre-back Andreas Christensen.

Rashford is expected to leave United on a straight loan deal without an obligatory purchase clause, with the Red Devils hoping to see him raise his transfer value over the next six months and spark a scramble for his signature in the summer.

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