According to journalist Simon Phillips, talks have taken place internally at Chelsea about the possibility of approaching United for the 28-year-old forward. Those discussions remain at an early, exploratory stage, and Phillips reports the conditions attached are specific and limiting.
Chelsea's primary concern is wages. Rashford's salary at Manchester United was reported at £315,000 per week before his loan to Barcelona last summer, and a permanent transfer would require Chelsea to either match that figure or negotiate a significant reduction — a complication compounded by the financial sustainability rules both clubs must observe.
The interest comes in the context of Rashford's situation becoming suddenly live again. Barcelona confirmed earlier this week that they will not activate their £26 million purchase option, sending Rashford back to Old Trafford after a season in which he scored 14 goals and added 14 assists in 26 starts as Barcelona won LaLiga and the Spanish Super Cup.
A queue of interested parties has formed quickly. Bayern Munich are reported to be prepared to meet United's £34.5 million asking price. Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa — where Rashford spent the second half of the 2024-25 season on loan — have also been credited with interest.
For Chelsea, a loan represents a low-risk route to assessing whether Rashford can recapture the form that made him one of the Premier League's most dangerous forwards in previous seasons, without the long-term wage commitment of a permanent deal. Under incoming manager Xabi Alonso, the club's attacking options are in a state of flux, with Liam Delap's future also uncertain and several younger players — including Tyrique George — subject to their own transfer speculation.
United, for their part, are believed to be willing to contribute toward Rashford's wages to facilitate any departure, loan or permanent, given the player has no obvious route back into the first-team picture under Michael Carrick.
Whether Chelsea's interest develops into a formal approach depends on how quickly — and how cheaply — United are prepared to do business. For now, it remains exactly what Phillips describes: an internal conversation, not yet a move.