Marcus Rashford is unhappy that Manchester United sounded out potential buyers for the forward without informing him.

Sources close to Rashford have accused United of informing clubs of the 27-year-old's availability and that he was unaware of the developments.

United have not made a concrete decision to sell Rashford and well-placed sources say no specific conversations with intermediaries have been held about him, though they concede it is probable Rashford was mentioned given the speculation over his future.

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United were prepared to sell Rashford in the summer if there had been a market for the England international, though club figures stressed their preference was to keep Rashford and help him regain form. United received no offers for a player on a £325,000-a-week contract.

Rashford will be made available for transfer during the January transfer window amid the possibility he has played for United for the last time. United have two more games this calendar year against Wolves and Newcastle United.

Tension has mounted between Rashford and United since the start of last season. Rashford was disciplined by former manager Erik ten Hag in October 2023 for attending a birthday party at Chinawhite on Deansgate hours after United lost 3-0 to Manchester City at Old Trafford. Rashford was also dropped from the squad for United's FA Cup fourth round tie at Newport County in January after he embarked on a boozy bender in Belfast.

Thousands of United fans sarcastically cheered Rashford's removal in the City defeat and he has been booed on a handful of other occasions, most recently during his last appearance away to Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League.

The decision to hire the experienced PR adviser Caroline McAteer midway through last season caused consternation at the club. Ms McAteer represents Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho, two former United players who fell out with Ten Hag following incendiary public outbursts.

Ms McAteer's Sports PR Company also advised Raphael Varane. Varane, who has now retired, was dismayed by the handling of his departure in the summer after United did not extend his contract and said in October "the project didn't suit me". Mason Mount is another Sports PR Company client at United.

Sources say Ms McAteer's connection with Rashford was an issue under Ten Hag but is not as much for the new head coach Ruben Amorim.

Rashford outlined his desire for a "new challenge and the next steps" in his career two days after he was omitted from the matchday squad against Manchester City on December 15.

Since conducting the interview with the journalist Henry Winter, Amorim has excluded Rashford from the 20-man squads for the defeats to Tottenham in the League Cup and Bournemouth in the Premier League.

Amorim is under no pressure from the United hierarchy to remove Rashford from the squad. Chief executive Omar Berrada nor technical director Jason Wilcox have interfered with Amorim's team selections.

Rashford was at Old Trafford for the 3-0 beating by Bournemouth and was filmed in the tunnel posing for photographs with mascots. He trained with the squad on Monday morning.