AC Milan has made its offer to Manchester United to sign Marcus Rashford on a dry loan.
The pursuit of Kyle Walker has been momentarily put on hold. Yesterday, Milan’s CEO Giorgio Furlani held a conference call with Manchester United’s counterpart, Omar Berrada, where he explained that the Rossoneri are intent on signing the English player until June, offering to pay roughly half of the remaining net salary for the 2024-25 season, amounting to seven million euros net.
Should the deal go through, it would be a major coup for Milan.
Additionally, the operation could benefit Manchester United as well, considering that several Premier League players have revitalized their careers at Milanello in recent years, examples include Pulisic, Tomori, and Giroud. This scenario could lead United to welcome back a rejuvenated player in the summer, similar to what happened with Jadon Sancho, who was loaned to Borussia Dortmund and subsequently sent to Chelsea on a loan deal with a €30 million obligation to buy, as pointed out by La Gazzetta dello Sport.
What about the timing regarding a potential deal for Rashford?
Milan has made its move, and it’s a significant one. After gauging Rashford’s openness to a move to the Lombardy capital, they reached out to the Red Devils. This is how big clubs operate. United is fully aware of the issue they have with Rashford and is no longer keen to retain their academy graduate in Ruben Amorim’s dressing room.
For this reason, they listened attentively to Furlani’s proposal and promised a response as soon as possible. While no firm deadline was set, Milan hopes to receive a reply within two to three days, or at the latest by the weekend.
A bit of posturing is expected, as Rashford has drawn interest from Borussia Dortmund, Tottenham, Barcelona, and Monaco. While Manchester might prefer to resolve the matter swiftly and free up space in the locker room, they also want to leave room for potentially better offers than Milan’s such as covering a larger portion of Rashford’s salary.
Furthermore, if an offer comes from an Arab club, the deal could shift to a permanent transfer, with United selling his card outright and unloading the 13.5 million euros net salary commitment that runs until 2028.
What are the possible scenarios for Milan?
With the FIGC regulation limiting Milan to signing only one English player between Rashford and Walker, the club's management and coach Conceicao currently agree on prioritizing reinforcements in the attacking department over defence.
The team generates numerous chances but struggles to finish them. Rashford would bring 138 goals scored for Manchester United, along with a desire to prove his worth away from home for the first time. Ibrahimović’s words ("He makes a difference in all offensive roles") hinted at Milan's interest in Marcus.
With that being said, the pursuit of Walker also deserves significant attention. Signing a high-caliber fullback who could become a leader in the dressing room is a compelling prospect, and Walker would be more than willing to join Milan. For now, however, Rashford remains the priority.
Milan is in standby mode, awaiting United’s counterproposal. The club’s strategy is to avoid bidding wars, confident in their strong appeal to Rashford, who like to return to playing Champions League football. Now, it’s up to him to push for a fresh start in Milan.
