Barcelona join the race for Marcus Rashford after holding talks with the wantaway Man United star’s representatives over a move this month

Barcelona are reportedly going ‘all out’ to bring Marcus Rashford to the club in the January transfer window as Manchester United look to architect his exit for the remainder of the season.

Rashford’s camp have been exploring options for the 27-year-old after he publicly declared his ambitions to leave United for a new challenge having been dropped for the previous Manchester derby win.

United head coach Ruben Amorim dropped Rashford after criticising his performances and actions during training across his first weeks in charge at the struggling Premier League giant.

Rashford has subsequently missed a further four Premier League matchday squads and looks set to leave this month with a number of European clubs interested.

AC Milan had been exploring an option to bring Rashford to Italy on a temporary basis for the remainder of the season and now Barcelona are doing the same.

Rashford’s camp and representatives have spoken to Barcelona transfer chiefs with sporting director Deco trying to decide whether a deal is viable.

Rashford is being chased by the cash-strapped LaLiga giants who could provide a tempting offer to the out-of-form England star for a few months.

Barcelona’s problematic financial situation that has seen them embarrassingly wrangle with the league over issues in registering Dani Olmo before eventually being allowed to do so.

Hansi Flick could now see his side boosted by the potential arrival of Rashford who is yet to officially decide on his next destination, but is being chased by several elite sides.

A loan move away from Old Trafford would hinge on what proportion of his wages United are prepared to pay, as well as the size of the fee if there is an obligation to buy.

The forward’s weekly wages are believed to be around the £325,000 mark.  

Rashford’s brother and agent Dwaine Maynard held talks with officials from Juventus on Wednesday and also spoke with Borussia Dortmund executives.

Maynard had on Tuesday has also been been in Italy to hold preliminary talks with Italian giants AC Milan while both West Ham and Tottenham have also expressed interest.

United’s preference however is believed to be a permanent departure for Rashford in a £40m deal.

Mail Sport previously revealed that Tottenham are among the clubs to hold an interest in Rashford with Spurs keen to bolster their attacking options and rescue their season despite being the second-top scorers in the Premier League.

Rashford admitted in a bombshell interview last month that he is ready for a ‘new challenge’ and talked about leaving Old Trafford as a ‘when’, not an ‘if’.

Ruben Amorim has not played Rashford since coming on as a substitute against Nottingham Forest on December 7, though he was restored to the bench for last week’s 2-0 loss at the hands of Newcastle.

When asked why he was dropped for the Manchester derby, Amorim said: ‘Selection. We try to evaluate everything: training, performance, game performance, engagement with the team-mates, pushing the team-mates up. 

‘Everything is on the line when we analyse and try to choose the players, so that is my selection.’

Rashford has already rejected three offers from Saudi Arabia worth up to £35million-a-year.