Marcus Rashford: What are Manchester United's plans to reintegrate the England forward after two loan spells?

All eyes will be on Marcus Rashford this week.

He has not featured for Manchester United in the Premier League since December 2024 and has since had loan spells at Aston Villa and Barcelona.

Barcelona chose not to activate their £26m option to buy Rashford permanently this summer, meaning what seemed an unlikely reunion for the majority of last season has now become a reality.

With Rashford's expected return, he does provide Michael Carrick with a much-needed option at left wing and an alternative through the middle. Benjamin Sesko has yet to feature in pre-season as he continues to recover from injury and questions remain over Patrick Dorgu's best position.

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United were potentially looking to add another forward option this summer, but with Rashford's return Carrick has a player who has scored 87 Premier League goals in 287 appearances and a different, perhaps more direct profile of player compared to Matheus Cunha on the left flank.

Rashford's return is one that Carrick is seemingly welcoming with open arms.

"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," Carrick confirmed.

Question marks will remain as to whether Rashford can regain the form he showed after the World Cup in 2022 after a barren spell before his loan at Aston Villa.

Rashford had fallen out of favour with the last two Manchester United head coaches in Erik ten Hag and Ruben Amorim, however, there is hardly anyone better to understand and coach Rashford than Carrick.

The current United head coach was captain at Old Trafford in 2016 when an 18-year-old Rashford came off the bench to score a brace against FC Midtjylland, Carrick was also part of Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's coaching staff when the forward was a key part of the squad.

Rashford will be fully reintegrated into the United side as they continue their pre-season preparations in Dublin this week.

Wednesday's game against Leeds is expected to come too early for him, but he could feature in the next friendly… A reunion against the boss who orchestrated his temporary exit.

United face Ruben Amorim's AC Milan in Wroclaw, Poland on Saturday.

Your views: Should Rashford be fully reintegrated?

Coximu7: Get rid he didn't want us and now nobody wants him. He wants us! He is overpaid and has an attitude we don't need! No room for him!

Saq: Bad attitude. Should never be integrated back into the team. If he really wanted a move away, he'd have taken a wage cut. Hey ho, he didn't, so that tells you all you need to know. Sell him even if taking a major hit. He's had his chances.

Alan Hepburn: Why are we taking Rashford back? He walks around the pitch and the lads we signed last year showed what it means to play for the club.

Mike: Rashford's return could help United a lot whether he starts or comes on he can have an impact and that is the type of players Carrick likes ones that make an impact, but he could also get the best out of him attitude-wise too.

Luke1878: Rashford needed some time away. If he hits the ground running, all will be forgotten. The squad has more options to rotate now and not be reliant on him. I like the patience of United's business this summer.

GangelOmes: Can't wait to see Rashford back in a United shirt and hopefully playing to his strengths. We can sure that if he had left, no replacement we could have got would have been as good as Rashford is.

Jamie S: Welcome him back with open arms. He left on loan under very different circumstances, and there aren't many better left sided options available at the moment. No brainer. Welcome home Marcus. Won't take long for the Old Trafford crowd to be on board.

Lachania: How can Man Utd accept Rashford back after the way he disrespected the club and fans with his below par performances for two years. Sell him as soon as possible!

(c) Sky Sports 2026: Marcus Rashford: What are Manchester United's plans to reintegrate the England forward after two loan spells?