If Lautaro Martinez's Deal Fails, Barcelona Could Chase Manchester United Ace In A Shocking Move: Report

If Lautaro Martinez’s deal does not go through, FC Barcelona reportedly are set to chase Manchester United ace forward Marcus Rashford.

Barcelona are hell-bent to sign Neymar, who is currently contracted with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) or Martinez, who plays for Inter Milan, to boost their chances to win another Champions League, the European title they last won in 2015.

However, due to the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic, Barcelona do not have enough money to fund either of these two signings. To make it worse, they do not have the option of selling players to clear funds for the signings because it was earlier reported that the likes of Ousmane Dembele and Antoine Griezmann have made it clear to the board that they would not leave the club this summer.

Even Phillipe Coutinho and Samuel Umtiti are unable to receive buyers. Coutinho currently is on loan to Bayern Munich but the German champions have refused to sign the midfielder permanently, mostly because of Barcelona’s asking price and the player recently picked up an injury that would keep him out of action for the remainder of the season. Even Samuel Umtiti has suffered an injury recently that possibly has waived off the interest that was shown earlier from a couple of clubs.

With a tight budget at the summer transfer window and no potential players to be sold, Barcelona chief Josep Maria Bartomeu has come up with a backup plan to sign Rashford, as reported by Don Balon.

The 22-year-old can be played either as center-forward or in the wings because of his versatile nature and could be a perfect fit considering Luis Suarez is now aging and has not been at his best. That’s where Rashford can step up for Barcelona.

Griezmann, who was brought in at Nou Camp as a long-term replacement for the current attack, has continued to struggle on the wings, while Rashford has better numbers when played as a left-winger.

However, the La Liga side could offer him the striker’s position, which Rashford prefers but has been playing on the wing with the Red Devils because Man Utd have given the key striker’s role to Anthony Martial.

The report has further stated that even though Barcelona are aware that Rashford, who is Man Utd’s academy product, would rise in the ranks at his boyhood club, the Spanish side is also familiar with the fact that Man Utd’s lack of desired results, including irregular Champions League play, has forced Rashford to think about his future elsewhere, where his talent could be put in better use.