Man Utd news: Barcelona accused of Marcus Rashford smokescreen as ex

Man Utd news: Barcelona accused of Marcus Rashford smokescreen as ex-United star 'banished'

Manchester United's summer transfer business remains the subject of debate with Marcus Rashford's future yet to be finalised

With nearly two weeks to go until Manchester United return to action, off-field matters remain the order of the day. The summer transfer window is drawing ever closer and the future of a few players - not least Marcus Rashford - continues to dominate headlines.

Rashford is one of a number of high earners to be loaned out by United this season, along with Rasmus Hojlund and Jadon Sancho. All three made those moves when Ruben Amorim was still in the dugout, though, with the mid-season arrival of Michael Carrick prompting speculation about potential changes of plans.

Barcelona are understood to have an affordable option to sign Rashford permanently, though there have been mixed messages when it comes to the Catalan club's plans. A new target has been linked with Hansi Flick's side, though things might not be as clear as first thought.

Elsewhere, one of Rashford's former Old Trafford colleagues, Anthony Martial, is in the news for the wrong reasons. Here are Mirror Football's latest lines.

FOLLOW OUR MAN UTD FB PAGE!Latest United news and more on our dedicated Facebook page

READ MORE : Senne Lammens reveals direct message Michael Carrick sent to Man Utd dressing roomREAD MORE : Romelu Lukaku goes AWOL as Napoli row escalates and club hint at punishments in statement

Barca accused of smokescreen

Barcelona are using purported interest in Victor Munoz to help drive down the price for Marcus Rashford, according to reports in Spain. The La Liga leaders can sign Rashford for around £26million in the summer but it has been claimed that they're still chasing a discount.

Munoz, who plays for Osasuna, scored on his senior Spain debut on Friday. However, Real Madrid hold 50 percent of the 22-year-old winger's rights and this is said to make a move to Catalunya all but impossible.

According to Navarre newspaper Diario de Noticias, Osasuna's board consider Barca's interest to be a smokescreen aimed at putting pressure on Rashford's camp. "By leaking a supposed interest in Osasuna’s star player, Barcelona is trying to send a message to Rashford’s camp that “we have alternatives,” using Víctor’s excellent performance as a mere bargaining chip to lower the cost of other deals," the paper reports.

Martial banished by Monterrey

Former Manchester United star Anthony Martial has been told to stay away from training for the remainder of the week by current club Monterrey. According to TUDN, this comes after the French forward threw a tantrum after being left on the bench for his team's most recent match.

Martial moved to Mexico in September after a spell in Greece with AEK Athens. He took 12 league games to score his first goal for Monterrey, which arrived in a 5-1 win at Mazatlan in January, and visibly showed his frustrations in the recent 3-2 defeat to Chivas when youngster Joaquin Moxica came on ahead of him.

Manager Nicolas Sanchez has reportedly banished the 30-year-old as punishment for his behaviour. Monterrey sit ninth after 12 games of Mexico's clausura season and have already been eliminated from the CONCACAF Champions Cup.

Click here to read article