Marcus Rashford is expected back at Manchester United for pre-season after constructive talks with the club, while goalkeeper Andre Onana is close to sealing a second loan spell at Trabzonspor.
Rashford, 28, is currently at the World Cup with England but will join up with the first-team squad when he returns to Carrington in the coming weeks. He spent last season on loan at Barcelona, who opted against triggering a £26m permanent clause and instead bought Anthony Gordon for £69m. United are unwilling to sanction a third loan after Rashford’s stints at Aston Villa and Barcelona, and the player would rather run down the final two years of his contract than move to another Premier League side permanently. That has left the door ajar for a return, and it had already been settled that Rashford would feature in the first-team setup this summer, having been ostracised into the ‘bomb squad’ by Ruben Amorim 12 months ago. United are keen to bolster the left flank and have looked at Everton’s Iliman Ndiaye and West Ham’s Crysencio Summerville, but those pursuits could be abandoned if Rashford stays. He could compete with Matheus Cunha and Patrick Dorgu on the left and provide cover for Benjamin Sesko through the middle.
“Marcus Rashford set for pre-season return after talks; Andre Onana 90% close to Trabzonspor loan.”
Meanwhile, Andre Onana is 90% close to returning to Turkish side Trabzonspor on loan, sources say. The deal is not yet agreed but there will be no option to buy. Onana, a £47.2m signing from Inter Milan in 2023, made 29 appearances for Trabzonspor last season after being loaned out following United’s shock EFL Cup defeat at League Two Grimsby last August – his only United match of the campaign. He ended the season by helping Trabzonspor lift the Turkish Cup for the first time since 2020. The 30-year-old, who still has two years left on his United contract, had been scheduled to return for pre-season training on 9 July, but he knew there was no chance of ousting Senne Lammens as head coach Michael Carrick’s first choice. With Lammens at the World Cup with Belgium, second-choice Altay Bayindir’s future uncertain, and promising youngster Radek Vitek hoping for a move before pre-season, Carrick could be left with veteran Tom Heaton and inexperienced goalkeepers for the opening friendly against Wrexham in Helsinki on 17 July.