Marcus Rashford has scored 12 goals in 13 games for club and country
Marcus Rashford has scored 12 goals in 13 games for club and country AFP / Oli SCARFF

KEY POINTS

  • Paris Saint-Germain has made their desires for Marcus Rashford known
  • Rashford has played a big role in the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo
  • Manchester United can keep Rashford with an extension

The soccer world has kept its eyes peeled on the nation of Qatar as the 2022 World Cup continues to chug along with the quarterfinals set to begin with Brazil and Croatia's matchup, but fans are also aware that the winter transfer market is set to open soon–with teams fielding "feeler" offers.

One of the teams that they should be mindful of is Paris Saint-Germain after their president Nasser Al-Khelaifi made it known that he wants to grab England and Manchester United star Marcus Rashford in the summer.

In a conversation with Sky Sports, he was asked about his thoughts on Rashford being a potential summer signing because of his contract nearly expiring.

"He's (Rashford) another player that's really amazing and to have Rashford for free? Every club would run after him, definitely. We are not hiding it. W spoke before but the moment was not a good moment for both sides. Maybe the summer, why not?" Al-Khelaifi stated.

"But if he's a free agent, of course, we can talk to him directly, but we're not going to talk to him now. Let him focus on the World Cup and then after in January, hopefully, we'll be able to talk to him."

Manchester United is still dealing with the fallout of Cristiano Ronaldo's unceremonious exit from the club after he blasted the team and upper management before throwing shade at some of his players during his highly controversial interview with Piers Morgan.

It remains to be seen how the club's dynamics will fair with Ronaldo out of the picture, but Manchester United fans have already had a taste for it in the early part of the English Premier League season.

Manager Erik Ten Hag chose to limit Ronaldo's appearances to just 10 this season as he opted to lean on the youth movement that is happening at Old Trafford and giving them some much-needed first-team experience.

To his credit, it has been working greatly thus far with Manchester United being in fifth place, three points behind the Tottenham Hotspurs and 11 points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal.

Rashford has been a crucial piece of that puzzle with four goals in 14 appearances, though he is doing much more damage in the World Cup–scoring the same amount of goals for England in just two appearances.

However, Paris Saint-Germain's salivating prospect of having Rashford for free may not happen as the Red Devils currently have the option to extend his contract and work on getting a massive extension done.

Rashford is Manchester United's prized possession at the forward spot and with the future of Mason Greenwood in serious jeopardy for his off-field issues, the Red Devils will be doing all they can to keep Rashford on their side.

Neymar (right) shakes hands with Paris Saint Germain's Qatari president Nasser Al-Khelaifi (left)after his world record 222 million euro move from Barcelona in 2017
Neymar (right) shakes hands with Paris Saint Germain's Qatari president Nasser Al-Khelaifi (left)after his world record 222 million euro move from Barcelona in 2017 AFP / Lionel BONAVENTURE