Man Utd’s squad stance over Marcus Rashford return made clear by senior figure with “amazing relationship”

Marcus Rashford has been publicly backed by one of his long-serving teammates to be re-integrated into Manchester United's first-team squad for next season.

The 28-year-old is currently away with England on 2026 World Cup duty, but speculation over his club future is rife now that the summer transfer window has officially opened.

Rashford enjoyed a productive the 2025-26 campaign on loan at Barcelona, scoring 14 goals and registering 14 assists in 49 appearances to help the Catalan giants retain the La Liga title.

The attacker has been keen to return to Camp Nou, but Barcelona opted against activating a €30m (£26m) option-to-buy clause which expired on June 15.

It is understood that Barca – who have signed Rashford’s England teammate Anthony Gordon for £69m – would only be interested in re-signing Rashford if they can negotiate another season-long loan deal with Man United, but the Red Devils are thought to be against that idea.

Prior to joining Barcelona on loan, Rashford was frozen out at Man United by former head coach Ruben Amorim after be publicly expressed his desire to pursue a new challenge.

Rashford's contract at Old Trafford, which expires in June 2028, is believed to contain a £40m release clause available to all clubs except fierce domestic rivals Manchester City and Liverpool.

While Tottenham Hotspur have been credited with an interest in Rashford, it is understood that the North London club are prioritising other targets, with a club-record £100m deal agreed to sign midfielder Sandro Tonali.

Maguire backs “wonderful player” Rashford to make Man Utd return

The possibility of Rashford returning to Man United is growing, and centre-back Harry Maguire believes that the attacker deserves a chance to start afresh at Old Trafford under new permanent boss Michael Carrick.

Maguire has been a guest on The Rest is Football during the World Cup, and he was asked whether he and the rest of the Man United dressing room would welcome Rashford back with open arms.

He responded: “Yeah, of course, I have an amazing relationship with Marcus and have had some great times with him over the years.

“I know what a wonderful player he can be. I’m sure it’s up to the club and up to Marcus to find a mutual agreement

"Of course, if Marcus does come back, we want him to come back and play and be happy and confident. It needs to be right for himself, it needs to be right for the club, but everyone knows what a great player Marcus can be for whatever club he plays for next season.”

Can Rashford revive Man Utd career after ‘letting a lot of people down’?

Maguire’s comments come after Red Devils legend Paul Scholes stated that Rashford had ‘let a lot of people down’ before his loan exit to Barcelona materialised.

“I think Marcus has let a lot of people down really, with his attitude, and I think that’s what the manager is trying to say,” Scholes told The Overlap Fan Debate.

“OK, he’s not refusing to play, but in the way he’s behaving and the way he’s training, in a way he is saying I don’t want to be involved with these.

"So I think the fact of letting your teammates down in that dressing room – he should be banished from the dressing room really. If he’s in and around that and young people are seeing that as an example, the sooner he’s gone the better.”

Rashford has played a total of 426 times for Man United’s senior side since emerging from the club’s academy in 2015, scoring 138 goals and providing 79 assists, as well as winning two FA Cups, two EFL Cups and one Europa League.