Barcelona’s already impressive front line is about to be boosted by the signing of Marcus Rashford.
Rashford is in Barcelona to complete a move from Manchester United, a person with knowledge of the transfer told The Associated Press news agency on Monday.
The person was not authorised to speak about the transfer publicly and did not want to be named.
The loan deal would give the 27-year-old England forward, once considered among Europe’s top talents, a chance to revive a career that has stalled in recent years after he fell out of favour at United and ended last season on loan at Aston Villa.
Spanish media said the one-year loan would give Barcelona an option to buy Rashford for about $35m.
Barcelona had the best attack in Spanish football and one of the most prolific across Europe last season but had been trying to add another piece to the front line to go along with young star Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and veteran Robert Lewandowski.
Rashford has spent his entire career at United, scoring 138 goals in 429 appearances and winning five major trophies, including two FA Cups and the Europa League.
But he struggled to consistently live up to the hype that surrounded him when he burst onto the scene as a teenager in 2016 – managing 20 goals or more only in three seasons.
In his past two seasons at United, he scored a combined 15 goals and added another four in 17 games on loan at Villa.
Barcelona won the Spanish league title with 102 goals, 24 more than runners-up Real Madrid.
The Catalan club also led the Champions League in goals with 43, five more than champion Paris Saint-Germain, before being eliminated by Inter Milan in the semifinals.
