Manchester United are willing to get rid of an "unstoppable" player this summer, as Sir Jim Ratcliffe flexes his muscles and prepares to overhaul the squad in his first transfer window at the helm.
Big summer under Ratcliffe at Man Utd
Ratcliffe became the new part-owner of his boyhood team earlier this year, coming in and running day-to-day matters and looking to guide the club into a more positive future. This season has been a poor one at Old Trafford and big changes are needed in personnel at the end of the campaign.
Erik ten Hag's future as manager is still up in the air – former Brighton and Chelsea boss Graham Potter has reportedly been lined up as his replacement – but whoever is in charge at the start of the 2024/25 campaign will need new faces in the squad, in order to add quality and freshness to it.
Plenty of players have been linked with summer moves to United in recent days, with Jean-Clair Todibo one of the names to emerge in recent days. The OGC Nice centre-back is an impressive individual who is arguably one of Ligue 1's standout defenders, averaging 3.3 clearances and a 90.2% pass completion rate in the competition this season.
In an attacking sense, reinforcements are needed in the final third this summer, and Crystal Palace star Michael Olise is seen as a strong option to bring in. The Frenchman is reportedly open to the idea of joining United, potentially acting as an upgrade on Antony, who has offered nowhere near enough consistency since joining from Ajax.
There are a number of individuals who could leave Old Trafford in the summer window, too, and a key update has dropped regarding one out of form star.
Man Utd happy to sell "unstoppable" homegrown star
According to a new report from The Mirror, Manchester United are willing to let Marcus Rashford leave this summer, with Ratcliffe clearly not messing around: "On the wings, it is a similar story, with United ready to cut their losses on £85million flop Antony, while home-grown star Marcus Rashford will be sold for the right price, having lost his way spectacularly this term after last season's career-best 30 goal haul."
It has been a stunning fall from grace for Rashford, who was in superb form this time last season, standing out as arguably United's best player and coming off the back of an impressive 2022 World Cup with England, where he scored three times at the tournament.
This season, however, the 26-year-old has looked liked a shadow of his former self, not only displaying a lack of ruthlessness – seven goals in 31 appearances in the Premier League – but also cutting a disinteresed and lazy figure at times.
While Rashford has shown on his day what a force he can be – Ten Hag has called him "unstoppable" in the past – it does feel increasingly as though selling the £300,000-a-week ace makes the most sense, cashing in on him while he is still young enough to go for big money.
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Selling him would have seemed unthinkable 12 months ago, but his dip has gone on for too long, and there is even the possibility that his very best days are now behind him.