Football agent Jorge Mendes reportedly wants to add Manchester United‘s Marcus Rashford to his list of clients amid speculation the youngster is hoping to appoint someone to represent him in contract talks with the club. 

According to the Times (h/t Joe Short of the Express), the 18-year-old is set for a new deal at the end of the season and Mendes—who also represents the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, David De Gea and Jose Mourinho—wants to help the youngster as he “believes he is best placed to help Rashford maximise his earning potential at this flourishing stage of his career.”

Meanwhile, according to the Daily Mail‘s Chris Wheeler, Rashford is seeking an agent to represent him as his affairs are currently dealt with by his mother and brothers.

The striker is expected to receive a much-improved deal on his current £1,500 per week pay packet after netting seven goals in 13 senior appearances for the Red Devils this season.

Indeed, his emergence has been one of the few highlights of a largely disappointing campaign for United, and of the youngsters to impress in the first team this season he’s perhaps only behind Anthony Martial in terms of impact.

One recent effort was a sublime strike against West Ham United to send United into the FA Cup semi-final, as shared by BT Sport Football:

Rob Dawson of the Manchester Evening News gave his take on the goal and believes Rashford has the attributes to prove his impact is not just a flash in the pan:

Bleacher Report UK’s Sam Tighe expressed as much after he’d made just two first-team appearances:

Per Sky Sports (h/t MEN‘s Samuel Luckhurst), Rashford has also impressed United legend Sir Alex Ferguson, who was known for bringing through young talent during his tenure at Old Trafford:

The youth graduate does look to have a bright future ahead of him, and the Red Devils will undoubtedly want to tie him down on a long-term contract that reflects his position as a first-team striker.

Given Wayne Rooney‘s poor form the club will likely pursue further attacking reinforcements to aid the England captain, Martial and Rashford, but securing the young striker’s future could be one of the best bits of business they do this summer.

Per Dan Gibbs of the Express, one such target could be Inter Milan‘s Mauro Icardi. The Argentinian may be prepared to listen to offers this summer if Inter do not qualify for the UEFA Champions League.

He told Mediaset Premium (h/t Gibbs): “My future without the Champions [League]? I am here to win with this club, but if there will be some offers, we’ll have to talk with the club. I think about playing.”

His side look likely to miss out as they sit seven points behind third-placed Roma in Serie A with four games remaining, and United could do with a prolific goalscorer who has netted 42 goals and assisted 12 in the last two seasons.

However, the Red Devils are hardly guaranteed a spot in Europe’s elite competition either, as they are in fifth amid a fierce battle with Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool and West Ham United.

City or Liverpool could qualify for the competition by winning it or the UEFA Europa League respectively, so there’s a good chance United won’t qualify—in which case they may have to turn elsewhere.

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