'He's giving us a lot of joy' - Rashford's revival at Barcelona

"He is unbelievable. He has more potential he can show us."

That was Hansi Flick's verdict on Marcus Rashford in September, before the forward's return to England for his first Champions League appearance with Barcelona.

The head coach's confidence seemed to inspire Rashford. He scored his first two goals for the Catalan giants and led them to a 2-1 victory against Newcastle at St James' Park.

It was the breakthrough Rashford had been waiting for since he joined Barcelona in July - a loan move from Manchester United that raised several questions.

What role would he play at Barcelona? Would he earn the trust of Flick? Would Barcelona make his move permanent?

With the season paused for its second international break, Rashford has featured in 10 matches for Barcelona, and the early indications are promising.

Beyond the numbers, Rashford is winning the support of Barcelona fans.

Some say it's too early to access his performance while others have called him a "pleasant surprise".

"You can tell that little by little, he is gaining more confidence," said Alejandro, a life-long fan. "He's been giving us a lot of joy. We can see that he's really hungry to succeed, so, at the moment, all the fans and the whole team support him."

Another fan, Pablo, said he thinks Rashford can "exceed the expectations that many fans had for him".

When Rashford made his La Liga debut from the bench on 16 August, in a 3-0 win away to Mallorca, expectations were modest.

He arrived at Barcelona after falling out of favour at United, and as essentially the third-choice candidate for the attacking slot his club wanted to strengthen.

The club wanted to sign a forward who could support Raphinha on the left wing and add depth in their attack.

They took interest in the 27-year-old after failing to land their other options, Athletic Club's Nico Williams and Luis Diaz, who was still with Liverpool at the time.

Rashford's league debut was unremarkable and his subsequent two Spanish league fixtures were also uneventful, with the forward playing no more than 45 minutes in each.

Spanish media at the time described Rashford as 'a fuego lento', a 'slow-burner', saying his best performances were in pre-season, against easy opponents and with no competitive pressure.

However, his goal for England in their 5-0 win against Serbia in the World Cup qualifiers in early September started a series of more impactful performances.

Injuries to Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski have opened the door for Rashford's resurgence, giving him an extended run in Flick's starting XI, where his influence on Barcelona's attack has steadily grown.

He has started in six of the past seven matches across all competitions. The only time he didn't start, against Getafe, was because he arrived late to the team's morning meeting, although he did play the entire second half.

Barcelona sources said that Rashford was two minutes late, prompting Flick to enforce his strict policy of excluding players from the starting line-up if they are late to training or team meetings.

It was the only match out of the last seven for Barcelona where Rashford hasn't been directly involved in a goal, either through scoring or assisting.

His progress has drawn admiration. It started with a first assist against Valencia, was followed by the two Champions League goals at Newcastle, and continued with assists against Oviedo and Real Sociedad in La Liga, and Paris St-Germain in the Champions League.

In his final match before the second international break, Rashford scored his first La Liga goal, albeit a consolation in Barcelona's 4-1 loss to Sevilla.

Two of his assists have come from corner kicks - an area where Barcelona had previously lacked threat. Spanish media highlighted his contribution. As one report noted: "With his precise delivery, Barca has found a new weapon on set-pieces."

Rashford's standout Champions League performance against Newcastle drew particular praise from Flick.

"He's a fantastic player, a great talent and his finishing is incredible," said the former Bayern Munich and Germany boss.

"For a striker, it's always great to score goals and so I'm really happy for him. Before the start of the season, [sporting director] Deco and I said we needed a player like him."

Rashford has more goal involvements than any other Barcelona player across all competitions this season, with his three goals and four assists.

Ferran Torres has scored five goals and has one assist, so has six involvements, while Lamine Yamal has scored twice and added three assists, but the 18-year-old Ballon d'Or runner-up has missed four matches because of an injury he sustained in the September international break.

Rashford has recorded the joint-most shots (27) and shots on target (11) and the most touches in the opposition box (69) among Barcelona players. He also ranks second for chances created (18) behind Pedri (24).

Barcelona's website published a story in praise of Rashford in early October, lauding his "effort and consistency" and pointing out: "Incredible numbers for a newcomer, showing that the Englishman has arrived in Barcelona intent on leaving his mark. And he is succeeding."

Since first pulling on the shirt, Rashford has contributed to a goal for Barcelona every 88 minutes.

This ranks him fifth among players in La Liga for minutes per goal involvement, behind only Kylian Mbappe, Julian Alvarez, Vinicius Junior and Alvaro Garcia.

It is easy to overlook that in the 2022-23 season, Rashford scored over 30 goals for Manchester United and was the sixth top scorer in the Premier League. That campaign highlighted what Rashford is capable of with confidence and regular playing time, and Barcelona are hoping the old magic is returning.

Rashford arrived in Barcelona determined to make his mark and launch a positive new chapter in an up-and-down career.

The club have the option of signing him on a permanent basis for £30.3m (35m euros) in 2026, but that is something that Deco told Spanish media would only be discussed at a later date.

"It's too early to talk about decisions for next season but what matters is that we're happy with him," the director of football said.

This was reiterated by another source at the club, who said: "We're all delighted and thrilled with him and his performance, Deco, Flick, and his team-mates. Marcus is also happy with us, with his team-mates and with the city of Barcelona.

"It's obvious that if he continues to develop like this, there's a very good chance that this will be the case. But we're only at the beginning of the season and it's still too early to talk about this."

Barcelona have big fixtures to come before the next round of international matches, including a derby against Girona, Champions League games against Olympiacos and Club Brugge, and the Clasico against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.

Off the back of successive defeats by Paris St-Germain and Sevilla, and with Raphinha returning from injury, Spanish media suggest Flick will be making some tactical changes.

For Rashford, it presents an opportunity to adapt and demonstrate his versatility as his quest continues for a consistent starting role.

He wanted this move in January, had to wait until the summer, and before he had kicked a ball was quick to say Barcelona "feels like home". The onus is now on him to make sure it remains that way.