Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim will supposedly hold ‘showdown talks’ with Marcus Rashford if the Englishman returns from his loan spell at Aston Villa this summer.
The 27-year-old has come good under Unai Emery since temporarily leaving his boyhood club in January, registering three goals and five assists in 13 appearances for the Lions.
Rashford was involved in the build-up to Morgan Rogers‘s goal in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final with Paris Saint-Germain in midweek, although his side still fell to a painful 3-1 defeat at the Parc des Princes.
While Villa are facing an uphill task in Europe, they have a golden chance to reach the FA Cup final ahead of their semi with Crystal Palace on April 26, while they are still in with a shot of UCL qualification via the Premier League as they sit seventh in the table.
The Lions should therefore be in a good place to afford Rashford’s £40m permanent option this summer, but Villa have seemingly not yet made a final decision on whether they want the England international to stick around.
Amorim ‘wants to clear the air’ with Rashford
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If Villa decide against activating the clause, Rashford will return to Carrington for pre-season training, and the Daily Star claims that Amorim wants to bury the hatchet with the forward this summer.
Rashford left Man United for Villa Park after being ostracised from the group under Amorim, who supposedly took issue with the forward’s attitude to practice and general demeanour around the training base after he publicly announced his desire to leave.
However, the report adds that a crunch meeting will be held with the intention of clearing the air before Man United jet off on a pre-season tour of the United States, which Rashford could be involved in.
The forward is still contracted to Man United until 2028, but the Red Devils will open the floor to bids this summer if Villa turn down the chance to sign him permanently amid talk of PSG supposedly reigniting their interest.
The French champions are believed to already be in talks with the entourage of Rashford, who has come up with 138 goals and 75 assists in 426 matches for the Red Devils since coming through their youth ranks.
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Rashford is just one of three Man United wingers who are plying their trade elsewhere after struggling to make their mark at Old Trafford, a list that also includes Chelsea-owned Jadon Sancho.
The ex-Borussia Dortmund man has gone off the boil since a positive start to life at Stamford Bridge, and rather than fulfil their obligation to make his stay permanent, Chelsea could apparently pay a penalty fee of around £5m to send him back to Manchester.
Sancho is highly unlikely to resurrect his Old Trafford career under Amorim, though, but he could still be offered a surprise escape route by one of Man United’s Premier League rivals.
In contrast, Antony has excelled on loan at Real Betis with four goals and as many assists from 14 games in all tournaments, but the Spanish side do not have the option to sign him permanently.
Club chiefs have talked up the prospect of keeping Antony for longer, but Betis boss Manuel Pellegrini has conceded that such a deal will not be easy to pull off.
