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Barcelona icon Luis Figo has admitted that the club will give "priority and opportunities" to their young talents ahead of Marcus Rashford due to their precarious financial position.

The forward is spending the campaign on loan at the Nou Camp and has caught the eye when afforded the chance to shine. Uncertainty persists over where the Manchester United loanee will find himself next season, with the Spanish giants considerably constrained by their financial difficulties.

They brought him in for the season and hold a purchase option worth £26 million - representing decent value should they manage to coax Rashford back to his very best. The Englishman is far from a guaranteed starter, however, given the wealth of talent at Hansi Flick's disposal in Catalunya.

He finds himself competing with the likes of Lamine Yamal and Raphinha for a place in the starting XI, while Barcelona continue to lean on their academy, leaving Rashford to settle for a role from the bench on occasion.

Despite his undoubted ability, Figo remains unconvinced that a permanent transfer will materialise. He told The Times: "Whenever he has had opportunities, he has shown the quality he has.

"But as it's a loan, it's hard to say what's going to happen in the future. Barca have very talented young players, who have been given priority and opportunities because of the financial problems that have stopped them signing much."

Should Barcelona choose to invest in a new striker, which appears probable given Robert Lewandowski is set to depart when his contract runs out, then their main target is expected to be Julian Alvarez. The Argentine is shining at Atletico Madrid and would command a fee approaching £100m were he to leave the Spanish capital.

Flick has repeatedly faced questions about Rashford's future, with the player not necessarily guaranteed a warm reception back in Manchester. It was a clash of personalities with Ruben Amorim that prompted his exit, though even a change in management may not provide him with another opportunity.

The German has remarked on his loan signing: "I'm very happy with Marcus. He has shown his quality and he scored an important goal. I can't say anything about his future, we have to focus on the matches until the end of the season."

The worst-case scenario for United would Barcelona not activating their buy clause as that would mean Rashford would return to the Reds while the club sort out another move.