Barça's Left-Wing Dilemma: Rashford's Future Sparks a Sneaky Bet on a Benfica Breakthrough

Barça rethinks its attacking plans for the next season

The English star's price tag has grown steep, threatening to stretch Barça's budget even further.

The sporting director Deco and his staff face a sensitive task before the start of the new season: deciding the final shape of the attack, with a particular emphasis on the left wing.

Currently, Deco leans on Brazil's Rafinha as the starter for this position, while the Englishman Marcus Rashford serves as a bench option, though his future at the club remains unclear.

Initially, Barca leaned strongly toward triggering the mandatory purchase option for 30 million euros, but Rashford’s recent dip in form has led the Catalans to reassess.

Because the deal would be relatively costly for a player expected to be a backup, Deco has begun scouting alternatives. One prominent option cited by Marca is the young Norwegian striker Andreas Schjelderup of Benfica.

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Marca notes that a scout from Barça was seen closely monitoring Schjelderup in a recent Benfica match, and when asked about Barça’s interest, the forward declined to comment directly, telling TV2: “Honestly, I hadn’t heard anything, but if it’s true, that would be great.”

Meanwhile, Barça still retains internal options with Abdi and Vergili that could be used if conditions align, but the Rashford signing now appears less urgent at the moment.

Punchline time features: If this transfer market were a sniper lane, Barça would still be aiming, but at least they’d hit the humor target on the way. And if the numbers don’t add up, they’ll simply pretend it’s a tactical budgetary adjustment—because in football, even plan B is a plan with a plan B.