The 30-goal scorer or the ostracised: Three factors Milan’s Rashford pursuit hinges on

SempreMilan

·9 January 2025

The 30-goal scorer or the ostracised: Three factors Milan’s Rashford pursuit hinges on

AC Milan won the Supercoppa Italiana just three days ago against their city rivals Inter, and yet the headlines are being dominated by one topic: Marcus Rashford.

The idea of Milan signing Rashford seems to be causing great divide among the supporter base, with some keen for the directors to explore a move and others believing he is not the kind of addition they should be looking at.

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Before diving into the key factors to consider, it is important to provide a round-up of where things are at currently. The Athletic stated that Rashford’s brother-agent is in discussions with Milan over a potential move, having flown to Italy on Tuesday to do so.

Both Sky in the UK and in Italy added that the Rossoneri have put forward their plans to his entourage, even floating the idea of a loan with option to buy formula and telling him that he will have to fight for a starting spot.

Moreover, Sky in Germany are suggesting that Borussia Dortmund are not in the race, so Milan might have a clear run even if Juventus and Spurs are now being mentioned. What must the club consider if they are to accelerate?

1. What’s the deal?

The discussions might as well not go any further at all unless Milan can complete an operation that is weighted in their favour. They have quite a bit of leverage: Manchester United need rid of Rashford, and at the same time the club can explore other targets like Francisco Trincao or Pepe in Portugal.

What seems to be the most advantageous end result for the Diavolo would be securing a loan with an option to buy. With that particular formula, the risk is removed of simply rehabilitating or even developing a player owned by another club and then losing him six months later.

Of course any option to buy would likely be set north of €30m – that’s the calibre of player we are talking about if he hits his stride – but like the Fikayo Tomori deal some time ago (his option was close to €30m) it could be too good an opportunity to reject come the summer.

Various things would have to be ironed out in order for everything to fall into place and the biggest one is salary. Firstly, the amount that United would cover for the initial loan. Secondly, the wage packet that Rashford would get if it were to become permanent in the summer.

If the Red Devils were to cover half of his £15.6m yearly salary for half a season then a short-term deal becomes affordable, but a big pay cut would be needed for there to be any possibility of the journey continuing past June. That is something the management will no doubt be outlining in initial talks.

Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images

2. Which Rashford?

It is important not to turn a blind eye to the whole reason that Marcus Rashford has even emerged as a transfer possibility. He has been ostracised by the new coach Ruben Amorim, amid widespread reports that there are concerns about his attitude and off-field conduct.

The heights that the forward has hit during the not-so-distant past are frightening: in the 2022-23 season, he racked up 39 goal contributions across all competitions including 30 goals. He was, simply put, among the elite Premier League players that season.

While that was only the season before last – and he has multiple other 20+ goal seasons to his name prior – the last 18 months paint a more worrying picture. Last season he scored eight goals and had give assists in 43 games, going from 0.63 goals per 90 the campaign before to just 0.24.

This season hasn’t been as bad as many might presume. The Englishman has 10 goal contributions to his name in 19 starts, with seven of them being goals, and his underlying numbers are actually up from last season.

To this we must add some environmental context: Old Trafford has been a beacon of instability in recent years. Since Rashford made his senior debut in 2015 he has worked under no less than eight different head coaches, from Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho to Ralf Rangnick and Erik Ten Hag.

3. Where would he play?

This is where a discussion needs to be held with Sergio Conceicao. Where does the new coach see him playing? Would he be a simple deputy left winger, in which case the salary investment might not be worth it, or would he be a really useful ‘wild card’?

Rashford can play on the right but he has not had his best days there, but what will perhaps intrigue is the idea of a 4-4-2 with the 27-year-old playing off either Alvaro Morata or Tammy Abraham, allowing Rafael Leao to keep his place out wide.

Conceicao has preached about versatility with regards to the formation, but if the Portuguese wants to go with a more permanent 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 then that changes things. Rashford is not someone who thrives as a lone striker, and as mentioned the flanks are already taken.

It is important to provide evidence through numbers. Rashford has 138 goals and 63 assists in 426 games for Manchester United across all competitions in his career and during that time he has played across the forward line.

According to Transfermarkt, the breakdown is as follows: 69 goals and 36 assists in 221 games playing on the left; 55 goals and 20 assists in 143 games as a centre-forward; 12 goals and seven assists in 49 games as a right winger.

In the aforementioned 2022-23 season with 39 goal contributions, 22 of them came on the left side and 15 of them as a striker, but it must be noted that he sometimes played off someone else so those numbers were not necessarily with him ‘leading the line’.

Milan should not put themselves in any position of risk barring a salary payment and perhaps a small loan fee. The three factors mentioned above have to be in the club’s favour, and then the pitch will do the talking.

To conclude with a bold statement, if Rashford hits the ground running at Milan and gets back to the levels of two years ago, he would be the best player in Serie A. If it is a continuation of recent months, he might not even be an upgrade on Noah Okafor.