Manchester United include penalty fee as part of deal to send Marcus Rashford on loan to Barcelona: Fabrizio Romano

Manchester United have included a penalty fee in Barcelona's loan deal for Marcus Rashford, according to acclaimed journalist Fabrizio Romano. The Red Devils forward is a step away from joining the Catalans on a temporary move for the upcoming season.

Rashford's future at Old Trafford has been up in the air all summer. Manchester United shipped the player off on loan to Aston Villa in January this year after he dropped out of favour with Ruben Amorim.

His situation with Amorim hasn't improved, and the Red Devils were eager to move him on this summer. While the English giants would have preferred to offload him permanently this summer, they appear to have settled for a temporary deal.

The Catalans, meanwhile, were looking for a new left-forward this summer. Nico Williams was Barcelona's priority target, but the Spaniard made a late U-turn to sign a new deal with Athletic Bilbao.

The situation forced the LaLiga champions to turn to Marcus Rashford instead. The Catalans will also have the option to sign him permanently for around €30.

Romano has added that Manchester United have inserted a penalty fee in the deal. That means that Barcelona will have to pay a predefined fine, believed to be less than €5m, if they decide not to sign Rashford next summer.

Interestingly, the Red Devils also inserted a similar clause in Jadon Sancho's loan deal to Chelsea last summer. The Blues reportedly paid Manchester United a €5m fine to come out of an obligation to buy the player this summer.

What has Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand said about Marcus Rashford's move to Barcelona?

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has stated that Marcus Rashford could turn out to be a bargain for Barcelona. Speaking recently, as cited by SPORT, Ferdinand backed his countryman to be a hit at Camp Nou.

“Marcus has to come in and look to do different things to the strikers that are already in this team. And he has the full ability to do that. I’m sure he can surprise,” said Ferdinand.

He continued:

“Rashford should move without the ball behind defenders. Be a threat behind them. He should make the opposition move back when he is on the pitch. If Rashford manages to adapt and play his game with simplicity, this operation will be a bargain for Barça. A real bargain on the market.”

Rashford has reportedly passed his medical with Barcelona ahead of the move.

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Edited by Deepungsu Pandit