Zlatan Ibrahimovic sends AC Milan transfer message to Marcus Rashford | OneFootball

Zlatan Ibrahimovic, now a senior adviser to AC Milan, has told Marcus Rashford that he'd be joining "one of the biggest clubs in the world" if he opts to leave Manchester United for Italy.

Speculation is rife that Rashford will be heading out of the Old Trafford exit door before the close of the January transfer window, having seen himself fall out of favour since the arrival of Ruben Amorim as head coach.

Rashford has been linked with a number of clubs abroad, including Milan, Juventus, Napoli and Borussia Dortmund, while a loan move to another Premier League club - Tottenham and West Ham have been linked - is not out of the question providing his substantial wages can be covered in some way.

Milan are reported to have made a formal approach to United, with his representatives said to have been in Italy to discuss a potential move, and Rashford has seemingly been encouraged to make the switch by legendary former striker Ibrahimovic.

"I know him very well, I played with him when he was young, he is now an adult and established," Ibrahmovic told Sky Italy. "He did great things with United and today that is his club. How to convince him? Milan is one of the biggest clubs in the world, everyone wants to play here.

Ibrahimovic and Rashford celebrating a United goal / Jean Catuffe/GettyImages

"This is a difficult operation, we'll see if we can talk to him."

Ibrahimovic spent close to two years at Old Trafford between 2016 and 2018, winning the Europa League and Carabao Cup, and was a key figure for United when Rashford was starting to establish himself as a first-team player.

New Milan head coach Sergio Conceicao also stoked the rumour fire last Friday, saying of the England international when asked about a potential move: "Rashford is a good player like many others, some are on the market, others are not, let's see what happens."

Rashford will not be involved for United's FA Cup tie with Arsenal on Sunday, extending his absence from recent matchday squads.