Carrick Remains Non-Committal on Rashford's Potential Manchester United Return

Manchester United's interim manager, Michael Carrick, has stated that a decision regarding Marcus Rashford's future at Old Trafford has not been made. The 28-year-old forward is currently on loan at Barcelona, following a six-month spell at Aston Villa the previous season. Rashford's career at Manchester United was put on hold last season due to a reported disagreement with former United boss Ruben Amorim. His loan deal at Barcelona includes a £26m option to buy clause, but the Spanish club is reportedly hesitant to make the deal permanent at that price. When asked about the possibility of Rashford playing for Manchester United again, Carrick did not rule it out. "There are decisions to be made in time on certain things. Marcus is in that situation," Carrick said. "At this point in time, nothing has been decided. It will be at a certain point because it has to be, but at this stage nothing has been decided." Rashford has scored 12 goals and assisted 13 in 43 appearances for Barcelona, but has recently come under scrutiny for a patchy spell. The England international was dropped for the second leg of Barcelona's Champions League quarter-final defeat to Atletico Madrid after an underwhelming performance in the first leg. Despite Barcelona's indecision over Rashford's option to buy clause, Manchester United will not renegotiate a fee with the Spanish club, and are confident they could receive a higher fee elsewhere. There is no expected reunion for Rashford at Old Trafford. Carrick also revealed that conversations have taken place regarding recruitment, particularly at left-wing. Manchester United are keen to bolster their options ahead of a likely return to Europe next season, with RB Leipzig forward Yan Diomande and Everton's Iliman Ndiaye reportedly being monitored. "There are decisions to be made, of course, but also timings are a thing," Carrick said. "Obviously, my situation is one thing, it's just working through that. There's certainly conversations to come because it's natural but in terms of an actual 'this is going to happen', that's not something I've committed to, recruitment-wise, but we've certainly had conversations. That's just natural."