Qudus SalihuBarcelona sporting director and former midfielder Deco has confirmed that there was an interest held in bringing Aston Villa loanee Marcus Rashford to the club in the January transfer window, but that the Blaugrana prioritised recovering their existing players from various injuries.
Rashford joined Villa from Manchester United on loan for the rest of the season towards the end of the window and he made his debut in the FA Cup victory over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
There was, however, interest in Rashford from abroad in January; reports suggested that he rejected an offer from Turkey in order to remain in the Premier League, but Deco has confirmed publicly that Barca maintained an interest too.
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They have endured a winter without a number of players who have been sidelined through various injuries, but having recovered the likes of Dani Olmo, Ferran Torres, Pedri and Gavi, the outlook of their squad availability is looking healthier than it would have been otherwise.
As such, Barca decided against pursuing a temporary deal for Rashford and he chose Villa ahead of other suitors.
“The winter market is always difficult, it is true that in the past there were important moments for Barca, such as the arrival of [Edgar] Davids [in 2004], but there is no Davids available today in the market,” he told Diario Sport.
“It’s difficult because the good players, the ones who can contribute, are not available. It’s true that there was talk of Rashford, who could have come, but we weren’t desperately looking for a player either.
“We knew that we were recovering players, that others were going to reach their best version. If he had been able to come it would have been fine, but it was not a priority.”
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Qudus Salihu
