Marcus Rashford clearly wants to continue at Barcelona, and if the Catalans cough up the price agreed with the Red Devils at the start of his loan period, then it's a done deal.
Barca's pursuit of Alvarez could let Milan in for Rashford
However, what's complicating matters is Barca's apparent pursuit of Julian Alvarez, and the club's far-from-perfect financial situation.
Alvarez is the No.1 priority for Joan Laporta, but at a reported fee north of €100m, even if the Catalan giants could somehow get the money together, there'd be next to nothing left in the pot to buy Rashford.
It's this precise situation that appears to have opened the door for AC Milan.
The Serie A side are themselves close to securing qualification to the Champions League, and they too would then need to reassess their priorities.
One player that they're seemingly now keen to offload is Rafael Leao.
Leao on the way out of San Siro?
Reports in Italy note that whilst Milan accepts the player is certainly talented, he isn't world-class, and with a weekly wage of €123,269, they could cash in this summer and use the influx of money to bring in someone in Leao's place.
13 goals and five assists in 38 games in all competitions isn't a bad return, and when set against Rashford's 13 goals and 10 assists in 45 games, it could be said to be on par.
Further, the Man Utd loanee is believed to be on a much higher salary, so perhaps such a swap deal is dead in the water even before tentative negotiations are begun.
Milan also have their eye on Manuel Ugarte and Joshua Zirkzee, and it may well be that the latter is a better deal option for the Rossoneri.
Zirkzee out of favour at Old Trafford too
The Dutchman has long been out of favour at Old Trafford, but it was his 12 goals and six assists for Bologna in 2023/24 that encouraged United to bid for him in the first place.
Set alongside the aforementioned two players, Zirkzee's return doesn't sound great either; however, he is evidently more suited to Italian football than the Premier League.
He made only one fewer fast break (four) in that season for I Rossoblu than he has in the entire time he's been at United.
His shooting accuracy of 54.4% was also markedly better than his current 43.8%, not to mention a shot accuracy of 12.8%, which has been whittled down to its current 9.5%.
Even his conversion rate has dipped to an alarming 12.5%, from 16.4%.
Perhaps the most significant stat, however, is that Zirkzee attempted a total of 86 shots in the 23/24 campaign - more than he's managed in the entire time he's been in England (62).
31 shots on target for Bologna were also a better output than he's managed subsequently for United.
Rogers is too expensive for the Red Devils
It's understood that the Premier League club would prefer to land Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa, were it a toss-up between him and Leao, but the difference in transfer fee swings the pendulum very much in the Portuguese's direction.
Milan's willingness to negotiate for their player, no doubt fuelled by their desire to see Zirkzee (or potentially Rashford) line up alongside Christian Pulisic and Alexander Sorloth in a new-look attack, will be in stark contrast to Villa's attempts to hold onto Rogers, who they value at over £100m.
Indeed, the Rossoneri were interested in taking the Dutchman before he headed to the Theatre of Dreams, with only the fees wanted by the player's agent, Kia Joorabchian, believed to be the stumbling block that put paid to that particular deal going through.
With there being little possibility of Zirkzee resurrecting his United career under either Michael Carrick or any potential new managerial incumbent, Joorabchian might well need to take a financial hit himself if he wants to move his client on to pastures new.
A deal that makes sense
Should Leao move the other way, United fans can look forward to a player whose current 56.1% shot accuracy and 15.3% conversion rate are a marked improvement on Zirkzee's output.
An 83.9% pass completion is also a serious upgrade on the United man's 75.1%, whilst 185 one-on-one duels contested in Serie A this season sit favourably alongside Zirkzee's 92.
On the face of it, then, it's a potential deal that makes sense for all parties, but whether it actually gets over the line is another issue entirely....
