Hansi Flick now has a new reinforcement up front.

BarcelonaIt's not Nico Williams, who failed Barça once again for the second summer in a row. It's not Luis Díaz, a signing who required a very complicated financial transaction, but Hansi Flick now has the reinforcement in the forward line he's been longing for. According to reports, The Athletic and ARA has been able to confirm, the Barcelona club and Marcus Rashford, who Manchester United had given days off to resolve his departure, have reached a verbal pre-agreement while waiting for the footballer to pass the medical examination. He will surely do so this Monday, before this British newspaper participates, that although they do not consider the operation closed to avoid a new disappointment, as happened with Nico Williams, those who admit the signing is very close to being closed. debuting under Louis van Gaal at just 18 years old in 2016, Rashford has been contaminated by the decadent drift of Manchester United in recent seasons Despite being an icon and wearing the number 10 with the Red DevilsHis performance with the Manchester United side had been declining, so much so that he spent the last half of the season on loan at Aston Villa, where he scored four goals and provided six assists in 17 appearances. His season was cut short by a hamstring injury in April. He missed the final four games of the season and was left out of Thomas Tuchel's final England squad.

The mess with Manchester United, the club that trained him, now allows the 27-year-old attacker (he will turn 28 in October) to join Barça on loan, which makes his arrival easier, but the Achilles heel remains the same as every summer: the club continues to be overbooked. fair play and work will have to be done on his registration, as well as with that of Joan Garcia—depending on what happens with Marc-André ter Stegen—and Szczesny, who has renewed for two more years. It remains to be seen what part of the high salary—around 18 million euros, after signing a star contract in July 2023 that linked him to United until 2028—Barça will assume, having already communicated through intermediaries that it cannot afford it all. With the final details to be resolved, there is a part that the Manchester club should assume and the other, that the player makes an effort and sees his emoluments reduced.

Hansi Flick already has a left winger

Although he's the club's third option for attacking reinforcements—sporting director Deco preferred Luis Díaz and president Joan Laporta was willing to give Nico Williams a second chance—Hansi Flick welcomes the arrival of Marcus Rashford. The German coach highly values the British striker's versatility, as he can play in all three forward positions, although his preference is left wing, the very position the Barça manager wanted to strengthen. In fact, Flick called him a few days ago to tell him about the project and how he saw a fit for him in the team. The coach has already proven himself a specialist in recovering players and getting the most out of them.

The English striker also wants to showcase his talent once again and believes Barça is the ideal place to do so. Although his performance has kept him from being one of Europe's top strikers in recent seasons in a Manchester United team that has been failing everywhere, Rashford has 138 goals and 77 assists while wearing the team's shirt. of the Red Devils on 426 occasions. His best campaign was in 2022/23, in which he surpassed his scoring record—his ceiling at the time was 24 goals in a single season, 2019/20—and scored 30 times and provided 12 assists in 50 appearances. His value, according to the specialized portal Transfermarkt, It is 50 million euros, taking into account that its highest price is 85 million.