Hansi Flick sends message to ‘fantastic’ Marcus Rashford over Barcelona transfer

Marcus Rashford has returned to form since joining Aston Villa on loan from Man Utd (Picture: Getty)

Hansi Flick has described Marcus Rashford as a ‘fantastic player’ with Barcelona strongly linked with a transfer ahead of the summer window.

Rashford, on loan at Aston Villa from Manchester United, is reportedly ‘dreaming’ of a move to the La Liga side at the end of the current season.

Barcelona sporting director Deco has already confirmed the Catalan club admire Rashford, who has returned to form during his spell at Aston Villa.

Flick has now fuelled speculation even further with the Barcelona manager publicly stating just how highly he rates the United academy graduate.

Quizzed for his thoughts on the Englishman, as well as on Liverpool’s Luis Diaz, another transfer target, Flick said: ‘[They] are both fantastic players.

‘I like them and we’ll see what happens [in the summer transfer window].’

Rashford has conjured up 10 goal involvements across 17 games for Aston Villa since he joined the club on loan from United in early February.

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick is a big fan of Marcus Rashford (Picture: Getty)

Rashford first revealed he was keen for a fresh challenge away from United back in mid-December after a fall-out with Ruben Amorim.

United head coach Amorim was heavily critical of Rashford’s application and work ethic and it seems he no longer has a future at Old Trafford.

Villa are interested in signing Rashford on a permanent deal this summer but it’s no secret that Rashford’s wish is to join Barcelona instead.

Marcus Rashford appears to have no future at Man Utd ahead of a sale (Picture: Getty)

Rashford’s camp have reportedly already held initial discussions over a possible switch to the Camp Nou.

Deco recently spoke about the La Liga champions’ interest in both Rashford and Diaz during an interview on Catalan radio station RAC1.

‘We like Luis and we like Rashford,’ Barcelona’s sporting director said. ‘However, we can’t talk about players who are under contract.’

It is reported that United have slapped a £40m price tag on Rashford ahead of the summer transfer window.

Should he move over to the Spanish top-flight, he would join a number of other high-profile English players currently playing in La Liga.

Jude Bellingham is currently one of the biggest stars for Barcelona’s arch rivals Real Madrid with Trent Alexander-Arnold also heading to the Bernabeu this summer.

Rashford has played a total of 426 games for United to date, registering 138 goals and 77 assists.

During his time at United, the Red Devils have won two FA Cups, two Carabao Cups, the Europa League and the Community Shield.