Monaco have entered the race to sign Marcus Rashford, with the French side confident they can offer a package to land the Manchester United outcast.
Rashford is tipped for a January exit after falling down the pecking order under Ruben Amorim. He has not been part of the first team for a month, having previously been dropped and overlooked for several matchday squads.
The forward remains one of the club's top earners but continues to underperform and the player himself has openly spoken about seeking a “new challenge”. Monaco are now ready to give him a lifeline with the Ligue 1 side in the hunt for silverware and strengthen their front line.
Manager Adi Hütter, who guided Monaco to the Champions League last season, is eyeing wide forwards with Rashford on their shortlist, as first reported by the Telegraph. The principality has no income tax, which works to Monaco's advantage when it comes to covering Rashford's wages, which amount to more than £300,000 a week.
Monaco are close to signing Mika Biereth, a central striker, from Sturm Graz, but are also open to more business. The French team is in third place domestically, but is also in the qualifying positions to advance to the Champions League knockouts.
Former Liverpool player Takumi Minamino and ex-Arsenal star Folarin Balogun are both part of Monaco's attack, although neither man has been productive this season, hence Monaco's desire to dive into the market for more firepower.
There is already a lot of interest from Italy in Rashford, with AC Milan and Juventus both linked with loan moves. Borussia Dortmund are also in the race, but they all need the Premier League giants to subsidize a large part of the player's wages. That isn't much of a problem for the Principality club and gives them a serious head start to land Rashford on a temporary contract.
Rashford is available against Arsenal in the third round of the FA Cup on Sunday. Asked whether the player would still have a future in Manchester if he were to go out on loan this month, Amorim said: “We'll see, guys. Let's focus on the game. They are available, they are training, we will see for this match.”
United welcome offers for every player in their squad as part of their squad overhaul. Not a single player is for sale and even the likes of Kobbie Mainoo, who is still in contract talks with the club, has been linked with a move to Cheslea.
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