Barcelona chief Deco drops hint on when Man Utd can expect Marcus Rashford bid

Marcus Rashford's agent was recently spotted in Barcelona for transfer talks but the Manchester United star will have to be patient if he wants to get his dream move

Barcelona sporting director Deco says that his club will focus on the futures of their own players before making moves for targets such as Marcus Rashford. Barca are in the process of tying down a number of key players, with Raphinha and Lamine Yamal recently putting pen to paper on new deals.

Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny also has an offer on the table while Barcelona are in negotiations with defenders Inigo Martinez and Eric Garcia to secure their long-term futures. But they still expect to make 'two, three or four signings', Deco has confirmed.

One of those could be Rashford, whose agent and brother, Dwaine Maynard, was seen meeting with Deco in Catalunya last week. The England international has been put up for sale by Manchester United, who loaned him out to Aston Villa for the second half of the season.

Villa negotiated the option to sign him permanently for £40million but they're now unlikely to trigger that clause. It leaves Rashford, who's set to lose his shirt number at United, searching for pastures new and Barcelona are understood to be his dream club.

But the 27-year-old will have to be patient and hope that they pursue a move for him instead of Liverpool winger Luis Diaz, as Deco outlined Barca's priorities. "We have been focusing on renewing contracts, after that, we'll discuss players to come," the former midfielder told BBC Sport.

"Of course, these two players, like you mentioned, they are good but have contracts in their clubs, so we won't speak because it's not fair. But when you decide to go to the market, for sure, we find some names. In my opinion, we don't need to bring many players.

"When I speak with the agents of the players, everyone wants to come or stay. So this is important. The image of the club is still good. We are proud because Barcelona is still such a big club, and the way we are playing football makes players want to come."

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Deco also confirmed that Barca will 'not sell their best players', despite their precarious financial position. The newly-crowned La Liga champions dominated Spanish football in Hansi Flick's first season in charge and were minutes away from reaching the Champions League final.

Flick described both Rashford and Diaz as a 'fantastic players' when asked about the attacking duo last month. "I don't want to talk about players who aren't part of my team, but they're both fantastic players and I like them," the German said. "We'll see what happens."