Former Manchester United defender Wes Brown insists Michael Carrick would welcome Marcus Rashford with open arms.
The 28-year-old attacker has been one of MUFC’s biggest stars over the past decade, but he hasn’t played a match for the club since December 2024, when Ruben Amorim excluded him from his plans.
The United academy product spent the second half of the 2024/25 season on loan at Aston Villa, before joining Barcelona for the 2025/26 campaign.
Michael Carrick would be delighted to have Marcus Rashford next season
Despite some solid showings over the past 18 months, neither Villa nor Barcelona opted to exercise their option to buy Rashford.
Therefore, the England international is now set to return to Carrington after the World Cup. But while most sources believe Man Utd are looking to find Rashford a new club, Wes Brown believes that Carrick would love to keep him at the club.
“Obviously, the offer was there for Barcelona, which they didn’t take up. They went for [Anthony] Gordon. So Marcus comes back to Manchester United,” explained the two-time Champions League winner in his exclusive interview with Utd Report, in collaboration with BetGoodwin.
“There’s still a bit of time and you don’t know if anyone else is going to offer. But I think Michael would be very happy for him to come back in the squad.”
Wes Brown explains why Man Utd should keep Rashford
From his personal perspective, Brown believes Rashford would be a great addition to the squad, as he believes Man Utd must build a team brimming with quality and quantity in order to compete with the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City.
“I’ve said it before, I think we need the best players on the starting XI and on the bench as well. And that’s how in my day we would win things, when your bench is really strong. You can see how strong Arsenal’s and Manchester City’s benches are, probably even Liverpool’s as well.”
The 46-year-old admits that Man Utd could be tempted to sell Rashford should an enticing offer arrive, but he invites the attacker to stick around and show his true credentials.
“There’ll be discussions, I’m sure, along the way in the next two to three weeks. It’s not as easy as that because if somebody else comes in, you never know.
“But at the moment, he’s playing for Manchester United tomorrow, and it’s one of those where Marcus would come back, and he’d have to show the crowd how really good he is, if that was the case.”
Rashford still has two years left on his Man Utd contract. Barcelona had the option to buy him for £26 million, so this figure is believed to be the threshold in upcoming negotiations.
Author
