Marcus Rashford lined up for stunning Manchester United swap deal to reunite with Scott McTominay
Napoli are showing an interest in Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford, talkSPORT understands.
United would likely have to heavily subsidize want-away Rashford’s wages in order to facilitate a move to Italy.
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Napoli could be willing to offer Victor Osimhen to United to help smooth the way for Rashford's arrival in a stunning possible swap deal.
Meanwhile, Napoli’s Serie A rivals Juventus want to sign Rashford’s United teammate Joshua Zikrzee on loan.
Rashford reportedly earns £300,000 per week after signing a contract extension in 2023 following his 30-goal season.
He has since struggled to retain that high level of form and has often come under fire for his on and off-field actions.
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Since revealing in December the want for a ‘new challenge’, he has not played a single minute for Ruben Amorim’s side.
He was on the bench against Newcastle last week but was not used - and it remains a mystery whether Amorim will eventually bring him back into the fold.
It is a somewhat similar situation to Osimhen who made his desire to leave Napoli last summer very clear.
But after moves to Chelsea and the Saudi Pro League failed to materialise, he was frozen out by manager Antonio Conte and offloaded to Turkish team Galatasaray.
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Speaking on talkSPORT's GameDay ahead of Newcastle's 2-1 win over Tottenham, Sam Matterface admitted: "Swap deals are very difficult to do.
"I think that, although it might look like a nice fit for both clubs I'm not necessarily sure that Manchester United are going to be happy about paying a lot of Marcus Rashford's wages but they're gonna have to do that if they want to offload him.
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"Interestingly, I thought the tone from Marcus over the course of the last few days, and from people close to him, is that he's almost quite happy to stay at Manchester United backtracking a little.
"There's not that much interest - it's not like there are clubs are knocking down the Manchester United door to grab him.
"Clearly, he's a very good player and he's got a lot of talent he just hasn't been able to display that in a Manchester United jersey for a year or so.
"He needs somewhere where he can get back on track is Napoli the right place to do that? Possibly!
"Scott McTominay is there, he's got Billy Gilmour whom he will know as well but he needs a new start let's see I don't think anything will happen till right to the very end of the window that's my prediction."
Osimhen currently sits on 12 goals in 15 appearances in all competitions, along with five assists, a big factor in Galatasaray’s eight-point lead at the top of the Turkish Super Lig.
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Manchester United's top scorer in the Premier League is Rashford with four goals while Rasmus Hojlund and Zirkzee continue to struggle.
Zirkzee has been fiercely criticised by pundits and fans alike since signing for £34million in the summer.
New boss Amorim subbed the 23-year-old in the first-half against Newcastle, leading to boos and sarcastic cheers from the Old Trafford faithful.
Zirkzee made a beeline for the tunnel and reports claim he is now desperate to leave United after falling out with Amorim.
Marcus Rashford's preferred destination revealed - but January move appears unlikely
Conte, meanwhile, has previously worked wonders with many former Man United players such as Alexis Sanchez, Ashley Young, Matteo Darmian and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Currently, Romelu Lukaku and Scott McTominay both play under Conte, with Napoli second in Serie A, level on points with first place Atalanta.
The Italian manager revived Lukaku’s career at Inter Milan and has done the same for McTominay, who has become a fan favourite in the box-to-box role.
Rashford recently shut down reports about holding talks with the Stellar Agency in an attempt to accelerate a move away.
Via Instagram, he posted: “Been a lot of false stories written over past few weeks, but guys this is getting ridiculous - never met with any agency and don't have any plans to do so…”
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The England star has already rejected offers to join the Saudi Pro League in January.
talkSPORT understands Rashford would be keen on a move to Spain to help revive his international career.
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