Barcelona reportedly earmark a Manchester United attacker as their ‘Plan B’ signing if a move for Liverpool’s Luis Diaz falls through this summer.Barcelona have allegedly identified Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford as their ‘Plan B’ option if a move for Liverpool’s Luis Diaz falls through.The Blaugrana are currently on the hunt for alternative wide targets following Nico Williams’s sensational 10-year contract extension with Athletic Bilbao.Barca appeared to be closing in on the signing of the Spain international, who is understood to have verbally agreed a six-year contract ahead of the La Liga champions triggering his release clause.However, Williams then wanted assurances from Barcelona that he would be registered in time for the start of the La Liga season, unlike Dani Olmo, who missed the first two weeks of the 2024-25 campaign.Barcelona’s guarantees were supposedly not sufficient for Williams, who made a dramatic U-turn on his future and committed to Athletic until 2035 with a new contract, one that reportedly includes a release clause of around £100m.Rashford emerges as Barcelona ‘Plan B’ amid Diaz linksNow working down their attacking shortlist, Barcelona are supposedly expected to make another approach for Liverpool’s Diaz, whom they have already tried and failed once to lure away from Anfield.However, a Liverpool side mourning the death of Diogo Jota are likely to block any move from Camp Nou, having also rebuffed an advance from German champions Bayern Munich for the Colombian attacker.According to Mundo Deportivo, Diaz and his agents have made Barcelona aware of his desire to sign for the Spanish champions, but La Blaugrana are also mulling over a move for Rashford if they cannot lure the Colombian away from Anfield.The England international is allegedly ‘crazy’ about pulling on the Barcelona shirt, and he would be willing to take a pay cut to seal a switch to Camp Nou before the September 1 transfer deadline.Rashford is said to be one of five Man United players who recently informed the club of their desire to move on, and the Red Devils are after a relatively modest €40m (£34.5m) to fulfil his wish of a permanent move away.Why Barcelona are ‘cautious’ about Rashford moveWhile Rashford is supposedly ‘crazy’ about representing the reigning La Liga champions, Barcelona are yet to share such levels of enthusiasm regarding a summer transfer.Instead, La Blaugrana are ‘cautious’ about making a move for the 27-year-old due to the breakdown of his relationship with Ruben Amorim and former disciplinary concerns under Erik ten Hag.Rashford memorably missed an FA Cup win over Newport County in the 2023-24 season following a night out in Belfast, in addition to being dropped for a Premier League clash with Wolverhampton Wanderers in late 2022 after reporting late to a team meeting.However, if the Diaz mission fails, the outlet adds that the Rashford operation could still prove to be a ‘very advantageous’ one for Barcelona if the Man Utd attacker makes his intentions clear.ID:576814:1false2false3false: from db desktop :LenBod:collect5072:
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