Barcelona want Marcus Rashford to stay at the club next summer beyond the end of loan spell from Manchester United.

Rashford, 28, joined Barcelona in July on a season-long loan and the deal includes a €30million (£26m; $34.9m at current rates) buy option at the end of the 2025-26 campaign.

The England international has featured regularly for Hansi Flick’s side, scoring seven goals and providing 11 assists in 26 appearances across all competitions.

While Rashford had fallen out of favour under former Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim, the decision to allow him to depart was not purely down to the Portuguese. United as a club had wanted more in terms of application from Rashford — who is one of the club’s top earners — and Amorim’s dismissal has not immediately changed anything regarding his future.

He has not played for United since the Europa League fixture against Viktoria Plzen on December 12, 2024 and spent the second half of last season on loan at Aston Villa. The forward was part of Amorim’s ‘bomb squad’ during the summer alongside Alejandro Garnacho, Antony, Tyrell Malacia and Jadon Sancho, training away from the main first-team group before securing his move to Barca.

Amorim was dismissed by United on January 5 following a breakdown in relations behind the scenes.

Rashford was first left out by Amorim for the derby against Manchester City on December 15, 2024. The Athletic revealed at the start of last January how Amorim dropped the United academy product after asking him about his social life following reports of a night out on the Friday before United played Everton on the Sunday.

That January, Amorim said he would rather name his 63-year-old goalkeeping coach as a substitute than pick a player who fails to give his all every day at Carrington when addressing a question about Rashford’s reintegration.

The forward subsequently joined Villa on loan and scored four times in 17 appearances, before his season was cut short by a hamstring injury. He also returned to the England squad in March and has been involved regularly under Thomas Tuchel.

His move to Barca was confirmed in July, with the Spanish champions paying his wages in full as part of the loan agreement.

Rashford has started 12 times in La Liga this season as Barca lead Real Madrid by four points at the league summit. Speaking in October, he said he would like to remain at the club beyond the end of his loan spell, explaining he “needed a change” after spending almost the entirety of his career at United.

“Oh yeah, for sure,” Rashford told ESPN. “I’m enjoying this football club and I think for anybody who loves football, Barcelona is one of the key clubs in the history of the game.”