Barcelona boss Hansi Flick sent strong message to Marcus Rashford before approving his loan move from Manchester United: Reports

Hansi Flick reportedly spoke to Marcus Rashford directly before giving Barcelona the go-ahead to sign the Manchester United star on loan. The manager wants the Englishman to fight for his place in the starting XI and has also expressed his concern over the player's work rate.

According to a report in SPORT, Rashford has been told to work on his defensive contribution as well, with Flick insisting that all his players help out all over the pitch. The Barcelona manager wanted to speak to the Manchester United star before deciding on the loan move.

The Catalan side were looking to sign Nico Williams this summer, but the Athletic Bilbao star opted against the move. The Spaniard held talks with Barcelona, but ended up signing a contract extension at San Mames after the Basque club reportedly used confidential information leaked by Javier Tebas to pressure his family.

Rashford has been out of Ruben Amorim's plans since December and moved on loan to Aston Villa in January. He has been keen on joining the Spanish giants and reportedly rejected offers from the Saudi Pro League and some European sides to get the move.

Marcus Rashford does not deserve Barcelona move, claims Manchester United legend

Manchester United legend Teddy Sheringham doesn't think Rashford deserves a move to Barcelona. The former striker added that the Englishman had turned his back on those who supported him at Old Trafford. He told Sky Bet (via ESPN):

"If you assess where Marcus Rashford is at as a professional footballer, you strive as a youngster to get to the very top and play for clubs like Manchester United, and when you're there, you appreciate it. You don't throw it away and say you want to leave, I find the whole episode very soul-destroying, compared to the way I was back in the day and how I strove to get the privilege to play for such a huge football club. "To hear someone talking the way he is talking, saying he wants out -- I didn't like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang doing that at Arsenal, I thought it was soul-destroying, and I hope Rashford doesn't get the move that he's hankering for. From my perspective, if you go from Manchester United to Barcelona, that's a step up that he hasn't deserved."

The Athletic have reported that the Catalan side will be covering the whole salary of Rashford during his season-long loan.

Edited by Sankalp Srivastava