Everton in talks over January move for out-of-favour Rashford, says club insider

Marcus Rashford could leave Manchester United for a second time in twelve months, with former Everton chief executive Keith Wyness claiming a January move to Merseyside is already being discussed.

Rashford returned to Old Trafford this summer after loan spells at Aston Villa and Barcelona, the latter of which yielded 14 goals and 15 assists as he helped the Catalan club win La Liga. Despite that form, Barcelona declined to exercise their £26 million purchase option, and since rejoining United under manager Michael Carrick, Rashford has gone eight appearances without a goal or an assist.

His situation has been further complicated by a hip problem that kept him out of United’s Premier League defeat to Bournemouth and the Champions League loss at Como. Carrick confirmed ahead of the Como game: “Marcus is still feeling a hip issue that we’re trying to overcome.”

Wyness, speaking to Football Insider, was bullish about the prospect of a deal. “This is definitely being talked about and quite strongly, and I think that could be an interesting solution,” he said. “Rashford did well when he was on loan at Villa and at Barcelona as well. I think it could work, and I think being close to where he is in Manchester, just along the M63, could also benefit him greatly as well.”

Wyness also drew a comparison with Jack Grealish, who joined Everton earlier this season. “We’ve seen Jack moving across that way as well, and when he’s fit, Jack is certainly a big asset for Everton. So I think Rashford would be a very interesting signing, and I’m hearing there’s a lot of smoke here — it’s definitely being discussed. I wouldn’t be surprised to see something happening in January.”

Rashford attracted interest from Tottenham, Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich during the summer window, but his reported £325,000-a-week wages proved a significant barrier to any deal materialising. Whether Everton can navigate that obstacle remains unclear.

The Toffees currently sit 11th in the Premier League after winning two of their opening eight matches, having endured a difficult summer transfer window in which several targets were missed and key departures went unreplaced.