Rashford World Cup cameo sharpens £40m United exit as Spurs and Bayern circle

Marcus Rashford’s decisive cameo off the bench for England against Croatia has added fresh urgency to Manchester United’s plans to sell the winger this summer, with the club understood to be seeking around £40m to sanction a permanent departure.

Rashford replaced Anthony Gordon on 72 minutes in Dallas and, within 13 minutes, had cut inside his defender and slotted a composed finish beneath Dominik Livakovic to seal England’s three points. The goal will do little to ease United’s dilemma — it simply raises his market value at a moment when the club has already decided to move on.

The decision to sell is not solely Ruben Amorim’s. Ineos decision-makers were fully aligned with the head coach’s position, and that stance has not shifted. United will look to sell outright in the first instance, with a £40m offer expected to be sufficient to conclude a deal.

The backdrop to Rashford’s World Cup involvement is a summer that has already delivered one significant blow. Barcelona, who had a £26m option to buy after Rashford scored 14 goals and registered 14 assists during his loan spell in Catalonia, instead pivoted toward Gordon — paying Newcastle £69m for the winger. When the deadline for Barca’s clause passed last week, the Spanish club allowed it to lapse, leaving Rashford and United back at square one.

Tottenham Hotspur are the latest club linked with the 28-year-old. It has previously been reported that Rashford would be reluctant to move to London, though circumstances may have shifted. Spurs, who survived relegation on the final day of the Premier League season, are signalling ambition for next term — they have also been linked with Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali — and the absence of European football could, as it did for United, free up resources for a tilt at the top four.

Bayern Munich represent another credible option. Vincent Kompany has shown a willingness to recruit from the Premier League, and having missed out on Gordon, Rashford fits the profile of forward the Bundesliga club could pursue.

With England facing Ghana in their second Group L game in Boston, Thomas Tuchel must decide whether to hand Rashford a starting berth. For United, every minute their winger spends on the World Cup stage — and every goal he scores — only sharpens the interest of the clubs now watching closely.