The whole transfer window is one big game of dominos, with one move holding up another which, in turn, holds up a third one, and Manchester United could be about to feel the worst of it.
Man Utd are yet to truly take off in the January market, with a loan for Ethan Ennis, coupled with some recalls from loans, like Joe Hugill from Wigan and Elyh Harrison from Chester the only moves so far.
Diego Leon could be a Man Utd player soon but that deal was done before January and will kick off at the start of next season.
A major reason why United haven’t been able to get their business off the ground is because their incoming are contingent on outgoings.
The club is open to offers for many players in the Man Utd squad but the chief among them, who will provide the most relief financially, are Casemiro and Marcus Rashford.
Unexpectedly, Man City have entered the frame of dominos and provided a stumbling block to concluding one major exit from Old Trafford.
Man City complicates Man Utd’s potential plans
United would have been hoping to conclude a major exit, ideally that of Marcus Rashford, due to his huge wages and status as an academy product.
Marcus Rashford had interest from many sides but the chief among them was AC Milan, a story that was developing with every day, albeit not always positively.
Still, the one destination most concretely linked with Rashford could be about to come off the table entirely due to another situation at Manchester City.
Pep Guardiola recently confirmed that Kyle Walker has asked to leave the club and AC Milan have been credited with an interest in his services.
Due to Brexit rules, Milan only have one spot for a non-EU player left in the squad after signing Emerson Royal and Strahinja Pavlovic in the summer.
Therefore, they can sign only one of Kyle Walker or Marcus Rashford due to the UK no longer being part of the EU and as things stand, their preference is Walker, as per Ben Jacobs who said the same on United Stand’s YouTube channel.
Multiple options for Marcus Rashford
There has been so much noise over the future of Rashford that it is forgotten that one of the options for him is to stay at the club and seek a summer transfer.
In Alejandro Garnacho, he has an example to look at as a player who found himself in the same boat as Rashford but turned it around and is now back in Ruben Amorim’s plans.
Even if Rashford doesn’t want to do that, it is in his best interests to stay at Old Trafford for six months and have a blinder to convince potential clubs of his value.
However, if things have completely broken down, then Milan aren’t even his only option, with many other clubs linked to him, including fleeting links to Barcelona.
Either way, every party involved would be much better off getting clarity over the situation so he stops becoming a distraction before and after every game.
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