Barcelona could look to extend Marcus Rashford’s loan deal into a second season as they are likely to struggle to pay a fee for the Man Utd forward, according to reports.

The Red Devils allowed Rashford to leave Old Trafford on loan to the Catalan giants in the summer transfer window after a temporary spell at Aston Villa in the second half of last term.

Rashford has been a useful squad player for Barcelona this season with Rashford starting 16 of his 27 appearances in all competitions.

The Man Utdforward has largely impressed during his time at the Camp Nou, scoring seven goals and providing eight assists in his time at the La Liga club.

There were some murmurings that Rashford could return to Old Trafford in the summer after Man Utd sacked Ruben Amorim and appointed Michael Carrick as interim boss until the end of the season.

But transfer expert Fabrizio Romano recently claimed that Man Utd are still pressing ahead with Rashford’s sale in the summer market.

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Romano said: “Marcus Rashford has a €30m buy option for Barcelona. Barca will not decide now in November. Barca will not decide in one month, in December. Barca will take their time.

“They are very happy with Rashford. The numbers are very good. The attitude is very good. So Rashford is doing very well in Barcelona, but Barcelona will take their time.

“At the same time, for Barcelona or anywhere else, Rashford is expected to leave Manchester United on a permanent transfer in 2026. So Rashford is expected to go out, also Hojlund is expected to leave on a permanent transfer.”

However, The Athletichave now raised doubts that Barcelona will be able to fund the buy option in the summer transfer market.

It is understood that it is ‘not yet certain the Catalans plan to trigger’ the €30m buyout option with the report adding ‘it would be difficult for the club to reach that fee while also matching the wages of his United contract’.

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With Barcelona spending €534m in wages across the club, the La Liga giants ‘will need to offload salaries before being allowed to register new ones — or raise revenues’.

That means it ‘would not be surprising to see Barca try to extend his loan into a second season’ with The Athleticconfirming that Amorim’s departure at Man Utd ‘has not immediately changed anything regarding his future’.

Speaking to BBC Sportin December about his time so far at Barcelona, Rashford said: “It’s been amazing. I feel welcome, I feel at home.

“I’ve just been enjoying every step of the way. It’s different, but it’s a great learning curve for me. I’ve not done it completely yet, but learning the language and stuff like that, learning the culture, it’s all enjoyable.”