According to Keith Wyness via Football Insider, Newcastle United could soon step up their pursuit of Marcus Rashford. They could look to sign the Manchester United forward on a loan-to-buy deal this summer.
The English international spent the second half of last season on loan at Aston Villa. He did have an impressive spell under Unai Emery, and they even had a £40 million buy option. But Villa decided against it.
While Rashford is back at Old Trafford, he has no future at the club, and they are actively looking to get him off their books. United would prefer to cash in on him straight away, but they might have to settle for another loan deal.
Former Everton chief Keith Wyness, who now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs, has backed Newcastle to sign the 27-year-old forward on loan with an option to buy.
While speaking to Football Insider, he said: “United would probably be best served to loan him out and try and get a proper valuation of him if he’s back in form after a full season.
“I expect another loan with an option to buy, again, like Villa had. To me, that makes sense.
“For Newcastle, I don’t think there’s any way they could afford to, with PSR issues, afford to do the purchase right now. Nor would they, I don’t think.
“I think they’d like to have a good look at Rashford before they made that sort of investment.”
Things went from bad to worse for Rashford at Old Trafford following the arrival of Ruben Amorim towards the end of 2024. He had a rift with the manager and was frozen out of the squad before being loaned to Villa.
The loan spell actually worked in his favour as he was involved in a total of 17 games and ended up contributing towards 10 goals. While Villa didn’t exercise the purchase option, his performances have put him on the radar of Newcastle United.
The Magpies seek more firepower in the final third and have seen offers for Anthony Elanga and Joao Pedro knocked back; they could soon make a move for Rashford. Wyness believes the Tyneside club can’t afford a straightforward purchase because of the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules.
More importantly, they won’t want to straightaway invest in him given his struggles at United. Eddie Howe’s team would like to have a good look at him for a season before signing him outright. As a result, they will put forward a loan offer with a buy option.
United want an outright sale, but they might still agree to a loan deal if no other club comes forward with a permanent offer in the coming weeks.
