Marcus Rashford scored England’s final goal in their 4-2 World Cup win over Croatia in Dallas, a moment of relief for manager Thomas Tuchel after goalkeeper Jordan Pickford had to pull off a vital save from Igor Matanovic when the score was 3-2. But even as Rashford trained in temperatures above 30C in Kansas City, the shadow of his club future loomed. Barcelona, who had an agreement with Manchester United to trigger a £26m clause to turn Rashford’s loan into a permanent deal, let the deadline pass without activating it. On 1 July, Rashford will officially return to being a Manchester United player, with a £325,000-a-week contract that still has two years to run.
Tuchel, meanwhile, faces his own selection dilemmas before England face Ghana in Boston on Tuesday. The head coach opted for Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa ahead of Manchester City’s Marc Guehi to partner John Stones, a decision that raised eyebrows but was consistent with Tuchel’s tenure: Konsa has started 10 of England’s 15 games under the German, third behind Pickford and Harry Kane, while Guehi has started only seven. Konsa was caught out of position when Petar Musa scored Croatia’s second equaliser, but Tuchel is a huge admirer of his physical and footballing attributes. Former England striker Chris Sutton argued Tuchel should pair Konsa with Guehi, saying: “Why is the debate Guehi for Konsa and not Stones? I’d have Guehi and Konsa because they are the best defenders. I don’t think Stones has the athleticism which the other two possess.”
“Rashford scores for England as Barcelona let £26m deadline pass, leaving his Man Utd return uncertain.”
At Manchester United, Rashford’s path back is complicated. Minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants to bring wage costs down, and the club gave Rashford’s number 10 shirt to Matheus Cunha last season. Head coach Michael Carrick said in April no decision had been made about the attacker’s future, adding: “Whoever’s here, I want to work with them and help them to improve.” But under previous manager Ruben Amorim, Rashford was placed in the ‘bomb squad’ and told to train at different times. That approach may no longer be viable: last week, Fifa announced a memorandum of understanding with global players’ union Fifpro confirming any player exiled from the main group can demand to be released and have their contracts paid up. For now, United say they expect Rashford to return after his post-World Cup break, but with his future still unresolved, his focus remains on the tournament.