What does the future hold for Rashford?

Marcus Rashford didn’t give the impression of being consumed by concerns about his future as he trained in heat that climbed above 30C in Kansas City.

In fairness, now is not the time to have attention diverted by club matters. For the next month or so, Rashford’s concentration is on England.

On Sunday, at least for the 15 minutes when cameras were allowed in to film training, that meant linking up with Jude Bellingham, Ivan Toney, Djed Spence, Eberechi Eze and Anthony Gordon in a passing drill before Wednesday’s World Cup Group L opener against Croatia in Dallas.

The onus is on keeping the focus there. It was not as if Monday would bring any news Rashford was unaware of anyway.

The deadline Barcelona agreed with Manchester United to trigger a £26m clause to turn Rashford’s loan into a permanent deal passed without it being activated.

No-one expected any different.

On 1 July, when Rashford will hope to be preparing for a last-32 encounter in Atlanta, he will officially return to being a Manchester United player, with a £325,000-a-week contract that still has two years to run.

So, what happens now?

In theory, Rashford could return to his boyhood club and resume his career there.

Head coach Michael Carrick knows him well. Carrick has been a team-mate, coach and - for three games following Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s dismissal in 2021 - hands-on manager of one of the recent star graduates of United’s academy.

When Carrick was asked about Rashford in April, he said no decision had been made about the attacker’s future.

He added: “Whoever’s here, I want to work with them and help them to improve.”

It is not quite as simple as that.

Minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants to bring wage costs down and that is not simple when the highest earner is on such a huge sum.

In addition, United gave Rashford’s number 10 shirt to Matheus Cunha last season and are hardly likely to take it off the Brazilian.

The summer squad rebuilding plans are being pieced together in the belief Rashford will not be part of them.

Yet it is tricky. Twelve months ago, Ruben Amorim placed Rashford in his ‘bomb squad’ and told him to train at different times to the main group. He did the same with Jadon Sancho, Alejandro Garnacho, Antony and Tyrell Malacia.

Last week, world governing body Fifa announced a memorandum of understanding with global players’ union Fifpro. Within the detail, it was confirmed any player exiled from the main group can demand to be released – and to have their contracts paid up.

It is fair to assume ostracising Rashford this season is off the agenda.

Manchester United will probably hope Rashford has a good World Cup.

That would increase the number of clubs who are interested in him and widen the options of a deal.

Yet, as with any contractual situation of this nature, United cannot sell Rashford to a club he does not want to play for.

He has just won the Spanish title with Barcelona and reached the last eight of the Champions League.

Rashford clearly believes he can have a significant impact at the highest level of the game.

Bayern Munich were suggested as having an interest. And what about Aston Villa, where he spent the second half of the 2024-25 campaign? They have also qualified for the Champions League.

After staying at Manchester United, this is the option favoured by bookmakers.

Rashford scored 14 goals and claimed 14 assists during his season at Barcelona. He might not have started every week but he did make a significant contribution.

It is England team-mate Gordon’s arrival at the Nou Camp for £69.3m from Newcastle United that seems to have eased Rashford out. Yet, if Thomas Tuchel can find a space for both players in his national team squad, why can the same not be true of Hansi Flick?

Clearly, Barcelona are unwilling to pay £26m for him.

As it stands, United have no interest in negotiating a different deal.

But there is no time pressure just now.

That will only come in the three-week gap between England’s World Cup campaign reaching its conclusion and Rashford’s return to pre-season training. By then, goalkeeper Andre Onana, another player on a big contract United do not want, will have returned for pre-season and a template will potentially have been created that Rashford might follow.

Beyond that, the transfer window closes on 1 September.

At that point there will have to be a resolution for Rashford’s future.

For now, he can continue focusing on England.

Who awaits Hearts, Hibs and Motherwell in Euro draws?

The World Cup has barely started and three of Scotland’s five representatives are already having to set their sights on next season’s early rounds of European qualifying.

Hearts, Hibernian and Motherwell are all involved in Wednesday’s draws for the Champions League and Conference League.

Rangers do not enter until the third round of Europa League qualifying but will be keeping an eye on their potential opponents too.

So who could the other three face when the draw for the Champions League is made at 11:00 BST and the Conference League two hours later in Nyon?

As Scottish Premiership runners-up, Hearts will be playing in the Champions League qualifiers for the first time in 20 years.

Back then, they defeated Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Siroki Brijeg in the second qualifying round before losing to AEK Athens and dropping into the Uefa Cup.

Hearts will enter at the same stage again and already know they will be facing one of two seeded opponents - either Fenerbahce of Turkey or Sturm Graz of Austria - in the League Path of the draw reserved for domestic runners-up.

The first leg of those ties will on 21/22 July, with the reverse fixtures the following midweek.

By that time they will likely be under new management, with head coach Derek McInnes seemingly poised to switch to Rangers.

Should they be drawn against Fenerbahce and win, Hearts will be seeded in the third qualifying round and will face either Czech Republic’s Sparta Prague, NEC Nijmegen of the Netherlands, the winner between Sturm Graz and Poland’s Gornik Zabrze - or Union Saint-Gilloise of Belgium.

The latter scenario would pit two of the other clubs in which Brighton & Hove Albion owner Tony Bloom has invested against one another.

However, while all three clubs use Bloom’s Jamestown Analytics firm for recruitment, the gambling tycoon has kept his investment in both Hearts and Union below 30% to make sure they comply with Uefa’s multi-club ownership rules.

Should Hearts be drawn against Sturm Graz and win, they will be unseeded and face either Lyon, Bodo/Glimt, Olympiacos or the winner of Fenerbahce against Gornik.

Lose at the first hurdle and the Edinburgh side will drop into the Europa League third qualifying round.

There, they would be unseeded in the same part of the draw as Rangers, who will be seeded for their first European fixture of the season.

However, there are a lot of ifs and buts before that draw on 20 July.

Talking of ifs and buts, the Conference League’s second qualifying round draw is full of them.

Despite finishing fifth behind Motherwell in the Premiership last season, Hibs find themselves seeded while the Fir Park side are not.

Among those the Leith side could face on 23 and 30 July are Swedish duo GAIS and IFK Gothenburg, Israeli outfits Beitar Jerusalem and Hapoel Tel Aviv, Valur of Iceland, Northern Ireland’s Coleraine and Shelbourne of Ireland.

Motherwell’s many potential opponents are a step up and include Ajax, Braga, Copenhagen, Gent, Rapid Vienna, Panathinaikos, Ludogorets Razgrad, FCSB, Partizan, AEK Larnaca, Rijeka, Cluj, HJK Helsinki, Brann and Nordsjælland.

All will become slightly clearer early on Wednesday, when Uefa will split the teams into groups of six and Hibs and Motherwell will know their five potential opponents.

Well go into the draw still considering who to appoint as manager after Jens Berthal Askou was poached by Toulouse after a successful season at Fir Park.

Whoever succeeds the Dane will be hoping to avoid the ignominy of their last Conference League venture, when they were knocked out at the same stage by Republic of Ireland’s Sligo Rovers four years ago.

Hibs head coach David Gray will, meanwhile, hope he can take his side one step further than last season, when they lost narrowly to Midtjylland in Europa League qualifying, beat Partizan in Conference League qualifying but then were defeated by Legia Warsaw in the play-off round.

Amorim agrees to become new AC Milan boss

Ruben Amorim won 24 games and lost 21 out of 63 matches in charge of Manchester United

Ruben Amorim has agreed to become AC Milan’s next head coach.

While there is no deal signed just yet, the 41-year-old is expected to fly into Milan later this week and sign a two-year contract to replace Massimiliano Allegri, who was sacked after a catastrophic run of form at the end of the season led to the club missing out on Champions League qualification.

Reports in Italy claim Amorim has said he will forego the year’s pay he was still owed by Manchester United following his dismissal in January.

In February, United said Amorim’s exit, together with his coaching staff, could cost the club up to £15.9m.

It is not known whether United will have to outline the saving in their next set of financial results, which are due out in the autumn.

Amorim was axed after a torrid 14 months at Old Trafford.

However, prior to that, he had become one of Europe’s most sought-after young coaches due to his work at Sporting, where he ended the club’s 19-year wait for a league title in 2020-21, and then won it again in 2023-24.

Amorim replaced Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford in November 2024 after the club rejected his plea to take over at the end of the season.

Last month, sources close to Amorim distanced him from the impending vacancy at former club Benfica as it became apparent Jose Mourinho was about to leave for Real Madrid. Former Fulham boss Marco Silva has since been appointed.

Providing the contracts are signed as expected, Amorim’s first game in charge will be a pre-season match at Celtic on 25 July.

Ironically, they conclude their pre-season campaign against Manchester United in Wroclaw on 15 August.

Amorim appointed as AC Milan head coach

Former Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has been appointed as head coach of Italian giants AC Milan.

The 41-year-old has signed a two-year contract to replace Massimiliano Allegri, who was sacked after a catastrophic run of form at the end of the season led to the club missing out on Champions League qualification.

Reports in Italy claim Amorim will forego the year’s pay he was still owed by Manchester United following his dismissal in January.

Milan say Amorim brings a “modern dominant tactical approach”.

“There are ambitions that stay with you throughout your career, and coaching AC Milan has always been one of mine,” said the Portuguese head coach.

“I know exactly what this club means: history, prestige and an extraordinary fanbase around the world. It is a challenge I embrace with pride and enthusiasm.”

In February, United said Amorim’s exit, together with his coaching staff, could cost the club up to £15.9m.

It is not known whether United will have to outline the saving in their next set of financial results, which are due out in the autumn.

Amorim was axed after a torrid 14 months at Old Trafford.

Prior to that, he had become one of Europe’s most sought-after young coaches because of his work at Sporting, where he ended the club’s 19-year wait for a league title in 2020-21, and then won it again in 2023-24.

Amorim replaced Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford in November 2024 after the club rejected his request to take over at the end of the season.

Last month, sources close to Amorim distanced him from the impending vacancy at former club Benfica as it became apparent Jose Mourinho was about to leave for Real Madrid. Former Fulham boss Marco Silva has since been appointed.

Amorim’s first game in charge will be a pre-season match at Celtic on 25 July while ironically, they conclude their pre-season campaign against Manchester United in Wroclaw on 15 August.

Burton's Larsson joins Swedish side Helsingborgs

Larsson’s only goal for Burton Albion this season came in their 2-0 victory over Liverpool’s Under-21’s side in the EFL Trophy

Burton Albion forward Julian Larsson, 25, has joined Swedish Superettan side Helsingborgs IF for an undisclosed fee.

The Swede scored three times across his 42 appearances for the Brewers after signing for the side from Nottingham Forest’s Under-21’s team in 2024.

Larsson earned the club’s Goal of the Season award for their 2024-25 campaign with his maiden strike for the side against Stockport County.

“We thank Julian for his contributions to the Brewers, and wish him the best of luck in the future,” the club statement said.