RASH'S RETURN! Man Utd give Rashford new shirt number in clearest hint yet that he will STAY at Old Trafford

Manchester United are ready to hand Marcus Rashford a new squad number which serves as the biggest hint yet that he's going to remain part of Michael Carrick's plans.

The forward has just returned to Old Trafford following the end of his loan spell at Barcelona, who opted against signing the Englishman on a permanent deal. Prior to that he'd been on loan at Aston Villa after being frozen out by Ruben Amorim.

During his 18-month-plus spell away from Manchester Rashford's No 10 shirt was given to Matheus Cunha, which cast doubt over where Rashford's future lied.

But the 28-year-old is now back in the fold at United and been handed the No 14 shirt. That shirt had been vacated by Christian Eriksen and will now be taken on by Rashford.

Carrick confirmed that Rashford, who has been afforded an extended break following his involvement with England at the World Cup, would be back with the group ahead of their pre-season trip to Dublin, where United will play Leeds at Croke Park.

The new United boss said on the forward: “I’ve played with him. I played in the game he made his debut, so we have a history. We have got a full squad this week in Dublin. We fly straight there and have a few days where we have the whole group back together. Marcus is part of that, and Kobbie [Mainoo] and Lisandro [Martínez]. We look forward to seeing them.”

United are ready to bring Rashford into the first-team environment and, unless a top European club comes in with a notable offer, he will be remaining at Old Trafford, according to Fabrizio Romano.

Rashford remains United's top earner on more than £300,000-a-week, which would complicate any sale given the salary demands a buyer would need to stomach.

Rashford scored 14 times last season for the Spanish giants and returns to a team who have continued to bolster their forward line. Last summer they spent £200million on Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko. They were all key in the team's rise last season whilst Amad Diallo and Patrick Dorgu are also competition for Rashford.

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