Last week, Spanish media reported that due to Rashford's poor performances in recent matches, Barcelona had doubts about him and might pay a €5 million compensation next January to terminate the originally one-season loan early. However, Manchester United fans can now feel somewhat reassured as Rashford’s agent team firmly denies the rumors of him being "returned."

According to sources close to Rashford, the player will definitely not return to Manchester United in January. They strongly reject the rumors from "El Nacional" and emphasize that Barcelona and the team’s coach Hans Flick still fully support the 27-year-old English winger.

Rashford has appeared in three official matches this season but has yet to score or assist, mostly coming off the bench. His only start was an away game against Levante, but when the team was 0-2 down at halftime, Rashford was substituted at the break, and the team went on to stage a comeback in the second half.

Under the loan agreement, Barcelona can choose to sign Rashford permanently next summer for €30 million. However, if his performance does not improve significantly, the La Liga defending champions are unlikely to exercise the option, as they rarely buy loan players outright in the past.

Sky Sports’ Spanish football expert Guillem Balague also confirmed: "The claim that Barcelona plans to end Rashford’s loan early is absolute nonsense. Barcelona told his agents they still have great faith in the player’s potential and believe he will return to being a top-class player."

However, in reality, Barcelona’s coach Flick is dissatisfied with Rashford’s performances. The team signed him for his versatility, initially positioning him as backup to striker Lewandowski, but due to missed chances, he has been surpassed by Ferran Torres in that role. Subsequently, Rashford returned to the left wing, still as a substitute.

Although Rashford’s performances at Barcelona have been underwhelming, he was recalled to the England national team by coach Tuchel and started in the match against Andorra. England won 2-0, with Rashford causing some threats in the first half, but his overall performance, like the whole team’s, was criticized.

After the match, Tuchel admitted Rashford still needs to work hard to succeed. "In my view, he is clearly a left winger, which is why we played him there today. He can have more freedom, not only cutting inside to challenge the fifth defender in the opponent’s back five but also penetrating deeper to threaten the third defender. I think our right side was more active today, which affected his performance."

Regarding the choice to start Rashford, Tuchel explained: "He performed excellently in training throughout the week, so we decided to start him. He did very well on the left flank. I can see his effort, and for me, the most important thing is that he keeps a positive attitude. Now he even trains with a smile and approaches everything with the right mindset."

The England coach has shown strong support for Rashford; aside from missing games in June due to injury, Rashford has started all three matches he played under Tuchel. However, Rashford has yet to score his first goal in Tuchel’s era. When discussing Rashford’s shortcomings, Tuchel said: "He has struggled a bit with statistics and delivering standout performances."

The English media outlet The Daily Telegraph criticized Rashford for also "getting lost" in national team matches, though he received some support from teammates. After the game, Rashford posted on social media: "The match at Villa Park brought us one step closer to our goal! The team played great, and now everyone’s focus is on another important game on Tuesday."

Rashford’s post was liked by Manchester United defenders Lenny Yaro and Tyrell Malacia, as well as England teammate Jack Grealish.