Hansi Flick wants Barcelona to sign 27-year-old Manchester United star as he pushes for transfer: Reports

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has reportedly told his club to launch a move for Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford in the ongoing January transfer window.

Rashford, 27, has fallen down in his team's pecking order since Ruben Amorim's arrival at the Red Devils. He has been named in the matchday squad just one time in his club's past seven matches across all competitions.

Now, according to Spanish outlet SPORT, Flick is personally pushing to add the Englishman to his Barcelona squad this month. He is keen to sign the forward as the player is adept at both playing as a winger and a striker.

However, Barcelona's top brass are allegedly uninterested in pursuing Rashford owing to the forward's inconsistency on the pitch. They are likely to face difficult competition from Napoli, AC Milan, and Borussia Dortmund.

Meanwhile, Rashford is believed to be keen to join Barcelona but has given the Catalan outfit a deadline of January 15 to inform him about the possibility of a move. He would need to take a major wage cut to join Barcelona.

Manchester United backed to win next contest

In his column for BBC, ex-Chelsea striker Chris Sutton backed Manchester United to register a 2-0 Premier League win over Southampton on Thursday (January 16). He wrote:

"Southampton under Ivan Juric are very different to the way they played under previous boss Russell Martin because most of the time they just lump it forward and they are far more direct. Saints may come into this game with a bit of confidence after beating Championship side Swansea in the FA Cup, ending a run of 12 games without a victory that went back to the start of November."

Sutton, who helped Blackburn Rovers win a Premier League title, added:

"United will find a way to win but I am not so sure it will be a completely routine one. I loved the way they defended against Arsenal and it was quite pointed from Ruben Amorim when he came out afterwards and talked about that desire aspect. He was speaking about that ability to fight and scrap for a result. United have shown they can do that part, now they have to show their quality too."

Manchester United are in 13th spot in the Premier League table with 23 points from 20 games, while Southampton are 20th with just six points.

In their last 16 total outings against Ivan Juric's side, Manchester United have registered eight victories and as many draws, scoring 32 goals.