Tottenham target Rashford after Newcastle reject bid for Tonali

Tottenham Hotspur have placed Marcus Rashford at the top of their signing list for the European summer. After completing the move for Jan Paul van Hecke from Brighton for £52 million and having an £80 million bid for Sandro Tonali rejected by Newcastle, Spurs are now targeting a forward who knows the Premier League well – and who is available for a fee well below market value.

Why Rashford makes sense for Tottenham

The London club’s policy this window is clear: players tested in the Premier League take priority over bets on foreign prospects. Rashford, 28, ticks every box. The Englishman was reborn during his loan spell at Barcelona, is in good form and arrives at the Club World Cup buoyed by strong displays. Manager Roberto De Zerbi, according to information gathered by our newsroom, is an avowed admirer of the forward and is pressing the club’s leadership to close some kind of deal.

The sticking point is the release fee. Manchester United value the player higher. The negotiation, therefore, depends on United and the forward giving ground.

The knot: high wages and the player’s preference

The biggest obstacle is not the transfer fee. It is the wages. Rashford earns astronomical figures at Old Trafford, and it was exactly that burden on the books that made Barcelona give up on completing the purchase after the loan – the agreed figure was £26 million, but the Catalans backed out. United, for their part, want to offload the contract to free up the wage bill and reinvest in other positions.

The player’s own preference also complicates matters. Rashford wants to return abroad – Barcelona or Bayern Munich, who are also monitoring the forward, are on the horizon. Swapping United for another English club is not in his immediate plans. But the club’s stance changes the board: if Old Trafford pushes for an exit, Rashford will have to review his priorities. And Spurs, who clearly are not afraid to spend this window, are ready to seize any opening. A considerable wage cut appears to be part of the deal – something the player, according to indications, accepts given the right project.