Against the odds and the transfer gods, local lad Marcus Rashford has officially rejoined Manchester United for pre-season, and it looks as though his new shirt number has been revealed.
It’s one with a fair bit of significance for a couple of reasons, too.
Yes, despite it looking nailed on for Rashford to have all but left Man United ‘for good’ following two loan stints at Aston Villa and a successful spell at FC Barcelona last term, the Wythenshawe winger has returned to Carrington and now looks set to be reintegrated into the squad.
Just goes to show that besides the Red Devils having seen plenty of sagas in their time, anything can happen in a transfer window.
As you can see, the homegrown United academy product turned first-team star and England international was spotted driving into the team’s training complex to link back up with his former teammates and, indeed, some new faces since he left.
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The last time Rashford played for his boyhood and still parent club was back in December 2024, and his most recent loan deal to Barcelona was expected to be made permanent provided he performed well – which, with 14 goals and 10 assists, he did.
Plenty of Barca fans were more eager to see him join his self-proclaimed dream destination full-time, too.
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However, not only were the Catalan giants ultimately unwilling to pay the estimated €30 million transfer fee for his services – not to mention his significant wage demands – but after they decided to sign Newcastle and fellow Three Lions attacker Anthony Gordon in a similar position, it never came to fruition.
Now seemingly set to be given another chance in the senior setup and a chance at getting into the first-team squad under Michael Carrick, who has seen every up and down of Rashford’s time at the ‘Theatre of Dreams’; he’s also set to carry on wearing the same shirt number he did for the ‘Blaugrana’.
Reportedly set to take the vacant #14 jersey, which has been free since Christian Eriksen left the club in May 2025, it provides some kind of continuity from his fruitful chapter away from home.
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Not only did Rashford supposedly select the shirt while in Spain due to his admiration for Thierry Henry, who famously shared a similar kind of inside forward role throughout his career, but it’s been noted by many fans that it’s also the same number his best mate Jesse Lingard used to wear.
While it remains to be seen how happy the 28-year-old is to have ended up back at Old Trafford, this has at least served as a nice little full-circle coincidence for some supporters.
As for the apparent reintegration process itself – what do you make of it, Reds: are you among those glad to see him back in United colours, or do you think he should still look at a move away from the club in the near future?
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
10th August 2026 
