Marcus Rashford will decide his future no earlier than mid-June, with his preference being to leave Manchester United for Champions League club, though the forward does not wish to join a London team.
His camp have also ruled out an exchange with any player who may be of interest to United, such as Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins, owing to the complexities of those deals.
Rashford was loaned to Villa in January after a fallout with Ruben Amorim and is unlikely to play for United again while the Portuguese is the head coach.
Rashford is content at Villa, where he has a positive relationship with the squad and Unai Emery, the manager. The 27-year-old has impressed there, scoring four goals and making six assists in 17 appearances, his latest strike a penalty in Tuesday’s 2-1 defeat at Manchester City. Villa have an option to buy Rashford for £40m, subject to the player wanting to join and agreeing terms.
Rashford’s representatives will wait until mid-June for discussions regarding his future. United are intent he should depart after the breakdown in the relationship and with money from his sale needed to help their summer transfer strategy. If Rashford is sold to a club other than Villa his fee could be higher.
The Wolves forward Matheus Cunha and Liam Delap, Ipswich’s No 9, are Amorim’s prime targets. Rashford earns about £365,000 a week and has three years on his contract, so his transfer would release about £56m in saved salary.