Marcus Rashford may be dreaming of a return to Old Trafford, but Manchester United has no intention of putting him back into the first team next season. According to Britain's The Sun, the club's stance is clear: Rashford is for sale, and at full price.

The English forward is currently on loan at Barcelona, where he has been reborn as a player. Seven goals and nine assists in 29 La Liga appearances - numbers that have erased the chaos of Manchester. The Catalans hold an option to buy at £26 million (about €30 million) at the end of the season, but the question is not whether Barça wants him - it is whether they can afford him.

Barcelona's financial problems are not a secret. The club wants either to renegotiate the price, or to push for another loan season. United is not budging. With qualification for the Champions League, Rashford's salary automatically rises - meaning every month he is not sold is a financial penalty for the club.

Meanwhile, the player himself sent a signal nobody expected. Rashford posted a congratulations to United on social media after qualification for the Champions League - the first such post in nearly a year. The British press immediately started speculating: does that mean he is open to a return?

Possibly. But United has no intention of moving off the plan. Rashford fell out of favour with previous manager Rúben Amorim, and although the new regime at the club might have a different opinion, a £26-million payday is not easily walked away from. The question is - who will pay it?

Barcelona - difficult. Hansi Flick wants the player, the player wants the club, but the books speak a different language. And here Arsenal enters. The Londoners are looking for a left winger because the futures of Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard are uncertain. Rashford at the Emirates - a scenario that until recently sounded impossible, but today might be the most realistic.

One thing is certain: Rashford will not sit and wait. After reviving his career in Catalonia, the player wants matches at the highest level. The question is only at which club he will play them. And while everyone insists negotiations have already been going on for months, the math is the same as a year ago - United wants money, the player wants a place. When the interests meet, then there will be a signature.