Marcus Rashford agreement reached as Manchester United sent clear message

The out-on-loan Man Utd star has attracted plenty of praise this season for his efforts in a Barcelona shirt.

A number of high-profile stars and agree that Marcus Rashford is shining after joining Catalan giants Barcelona on loan from Manchester United this summer.

The United academy graduate fell out of favour under Ruben Amorim last season and spent the second half of last term on loan with Aston Villa.

His future was a major talking point this summer, with Hansi Flick's Barcelona winning the race for his signature and the England international hasn't looked back since then. The 27-year-old now has eight goal contributions in his last seven games, with his latest feat a goal in the 4-1 defeat to Sevilla.

Ex-Barcelona star Gary Lineker has heaped praise on Rashford's start to life in Catalonia, telling the latest Rest is Football podcast: "I'm pleased for Marcus [Rashford], I don't think he could've had a much better start. I mean, admittedly, they lost this particular game, but through no fault of his, in fact, I think he was probably their best player."

While giving his verdict on Lewandowski's penalty miss, Lineker added: "It's funny, I was at home and thinking; 'Let Marcus take it [the penalty], he's a brilliant penalty taker' and obviously Lewandowski has taken them and I always knew he would take it, but I had a feeling and then he hit it wide.

"So Marcus will be champing at the bit, to I suspect, to get that gig, but I don't think he'll get it while Lewandowski is there because strikers, however many they miss, unless they miss possibly two on the bounce, they tend to keep taking them."

Since his move to the La Liga giants, several Barcelona stars have also given Rashford a glowing appraisal. After scoring a brace against Newcastle United in the Champions League, Barca boss Flick said: "The important thing is that he gains confidence, and scoring two goals in this stadium, in his home country, will help him.

"We're helping him. But I'm not surprised. He's an outstanding player, with great talent, as I said. His finishing is fantastic. We need a player like him."

Barca defender Ronald Araujo told reporters after that game: "Marcus is spectacular. He does the same thing in training. We're very happy to have him with us, because he has a lot of quality and will help us a lot."

"It was incredible," goalkeeper Joan Garcia went on. "He's already got us used to it in training. He has a very good shot, and I'm very happy for him because he's working hard and he's working well."

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