Zlatan Ibrahimovic extends helping hand to Marcus Rashford to put an end to his struggles at Manchester United: report

Despite scoring the opening goal during Ruben Amorim's managerial debut, the English football star has struggled to secure a place in Manchester United's starting lineup over the past few years. Unfortunately, under Amorim's leadership, he has consistently found himself out of favour.

Saudi Arabia is reportedly not an attractive option to Rashford – but turning out for one of the historic giants of European football could well be.

Marcus Rashford could be given a Manchester United exit by a former team-mate

AC Milan are the latest name to come onto the radar, with the Serie A side reportedly weighing up a loan move until the end of the season, according to the Daily Mail.

That may well prove to be an acceptable stopgap for United and Rashford alike, with the Mail adding that the club’s £40m valuation and Rashford’s hefty £325,000 per week wages are proving to be an impediment at this early stage of the transfer window.

Rashford was said to be keen on a move to Spain, but with plenty of La Liga clubs watching their finances tightly, he is said to be unlikely to get a move there until the summer – and even then, he would need to impress somebody enough in the interim to tempt them into opening up the purse strings.

So a move to San Siro could make sense for everyone. Having finished as distant runners-up to rivals Inter last season, Milan are struggling down in 8th this season and have come up particularly short in front of goal.

Get FourFourTwo Newsletter

The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

With Rafael Leao and Christian Pulisic both struggling with injuries, Milan have found the net just 26 times in 17 games so far this season.

Club favourite turned nebulously-defined suit Zlatan Ibrahimovic is said to have been asked to chip in with suggestions for players to help solve that problem, and has reportedly suggested his former Manchester United teammate for the job.

In FourFourTwo’s view, a loan move to Milan would seem to provide short-term solutions for all parties – Manchester United, Rashford and Milan – and Serie A has been a very attractive destination for British-produced players who have needed a move in recent years, from Chris Smalling to Ademola Lookman and Scott McTominay.

But the question is whether all three would be happy with something less than permanent at this stage. It may be that as the window goes on, it becomes a more and more attractive proposition.

The academy graduate was left out of Sir Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2024 squad and will be desperate to get himself into Thomas Tuchel’s thoughts ahead of the 2026 World Cup