Marcus Rashford has already sent message to Tottenham star as 'transfer contact made'

Marcus Rashford's future beyond his loan at Barcelona remains uncertain

Marcus Rashford already had a friendly relationship with James Maddison prior to reports linking the England attacker to Tottenham Hotspur.

The Barcelona star is on loan at the Spanish giants until the end of the season from Manchester United. With Ruben Amorim not wanting the 28-year-old as part of his plans at Old Trafford, Rashford's future beyond next summer remains up in the air.

He's enjoyed a return to form in Spain, with 15 goals and assists combined in just 16 games across all competitions for Barcelona. The Catalan club possess a reported £26million option to buy at the end of his temporary spell.

However, there could be a return to England for Rashford, with reports in Spain claiming that his agent and brother, Dwaine Maynard, has held initial talks with Spurs and Chelsea over a possible transfer.

Should Rashford make the move to north London, it'll see him reunite with several international team-mates, including Maddison, whom he shares a friendship with. The pair have regularly looked pally when meeting up for England duty and have exchanged complimentary messages to each other on social media.

It was after Rashford's brace for United in a Carabao Cup victory over Chelsea in 2019 that saw the pair take to Instagram. The attacker netted a penalty and wonderful free-kick at Stamford Bridge and posted a photo of himself celebrating in front of the Blues fans on social media.

He wrote the caption: "Class win. Class support. Class night. Hope you enjoyed your birthday Dwaine Maynard (Rashford's brother and agent)" which saw Maddison respond: "Nah that free-kick," alongside a shocked-face emoji. Rashford then replied back with: "Maddison [I've] been watching you mate."

One of their more recent interactions came this past summer when speculation surrounding Rashford's future was rife. It was in June when he went on holiday and posted several snaps from his break on Instagram with the caption: "The lost files. Summer 25" which the Spurs star liked.

Maddison - who is expected to be out of action for most of the season following an ACL injury in pre-season - would surely be an advocate of Rashford signing for Spurs, but the forward has waxed lyrical about his time so far in Barcelona.

Speaking to ESPN last month, Rashford said: "Oh yeah, for sure," when asked whether he wanted to remain at Barcelona. He added: "I'm enjoying this football club and I think for anybody who loves football, Barcelona is one of the key clubs in the history of the game. For a player it is an honour."

Calling it a "perfect scenario" where he's playing alongside the top players in the world, Rashford had special praise for two of his team-mates in particular. "Lots of players have lots of qualities but probably the standouts are Lamine Yamal. And, for me, Pedri is unbelievable," he explained.

"I knew he was good before I played with him. But to play with him everyday is unbelievable. Relationships on the pitch, the ones I am still learning, are very important. When it comes to the matchday, these are things which make small differences. They have such high quality. It's the perfect scenario to play with players like this."