Barcelona risk Man Utd wrath with fresh Rashford transfer talks over DISCOUNT deal

Barcelona have held talks with Manchester United and Marcus Rashford as they desperately seek a way to lower the price of the forward’s permanent signing.

Rashford has impressed Barcelona after joining the Catalans on loan last summer, with his conduct and performances praised by sporting director Deco earlier this month.

Barca have already made the internal decision to make Rashford’s signing a permanent one in the summer, with the La Liga giants having already agreed an optional fee of €30 million with United.

However, the club’s delicate financial situation has led to hopes that they can convince United to lower their asking price – a plea which has fallen on deaf ears at Old Trafford.

In spite of the negative response, Spanish outlet SPORT claim that a ‘key meeting’ took place on Monday between Deco and Rashford’s agent Arturo Canales to ‘lay the groundwork’ for negotiations with United this summer.

Barca are said to be ‘confident’ of a path towards a lower fee and believe that their good relationship with Rashford and United’s agents could help ‘bridge the gap’ towards a ‘strategic’ deal in the coming weeks.

Man Utd refusing to lower Rashford discounted price

United have continued to insist that the matter is closed and that either Barcelona meet the agreed price for Rashford or let his loan expire, at which point they will test the market for other moves, with the 28-year-old having no future in Manchester.

It is felt at United that Barcelona are already getting a cheap price for Rashford, with some suggestions that the England international would fetch double his €30m fee on the open market.

Rashford would also be required to significantly lower his wage demands in order to facilitate a permanent move to Barca, although this is not believed to be an issue for the player, who is keen to extend his stay with the club.

Barca are hoping to resolve Rashford’s future before the end of the season in order to avoid any last minute drama, with player swaps and creative financial plays already being considered to subsidise the outlay.

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