Carrick tells of bond with Rashford 'playing together in Man Utd team' as striker returns

Michael Carrick tells of his bond with Marcus Rashford having "played in the game he made his debut" for Manchester United.

The manager said he has a positive "history" Rashford after confirming the winger will return for pre-season training with United in Ireland.

Rashford has spent the last 18 months on loan away from Old Trafford and appeared almost certain to exit the club.

His No.10 shirt was given to Matheus Cunha last season and both the club and the player seemed to be happy to go their different ways.

At Barcelona, Rashford worked hard and was popular with the coach Hansi Flick but he did not hold down a regular starting place.

While it is widely reported that he did well at the Catalan club this is overplayed as he generally failed to deliver in key games.

Still it was a surprise that Barcelona turned down the chance to sign Rashford permanently for just £26million.

Now the 28-year-old will return to the fold at United as they continue preseason training in County Kildare this week.

Rashford spent last summer in the bomb squad at United after being frozen out by Ruben Amorim and he hasn't played for the club since December 2024, but there has been a thawing in relations this summer.

Carrick is the ideal man to try and help with that reintegration, having played with the forward at United and coached him when he was on the staff under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Carrick and Rashford have been in touch this summer.

Speaking to Scandinavian broadcaster VG after United's friendly against Paris Saint-Germain, Carrick spoke about that history and confirmed Rashford would return next week, along with Lisandro Martinez and Kobbie Mainoo.

"I've played with him. I played in the game he made his debut, so we have a history," the United head coach said.

"We have a full squad next week in Dublin. We fly straight there and meet Leeds on Wednesday. We have a few days in Dublin where we have the whole squad, including Marcus, Kobbie and Lisandro."