If you think about it, it's quite impossible for Barcelona to buy him if he doesn't show good performance. His sales are still quite high for Barcelona and he also has a high salary, while Barcelona doesn't have stable finances. So I think Barcelona management is only borrowing him for this season as a substitute option and Barcelona has no real intention of buying him.
Rashford was not their main target, it was Nico Williams and I wonder why Williams didn't show much interest and later signed a 10 year contract with Bilbao. From my observations I think Nico Williams is not confident in himself. He feels he might not perform the way they are expecting him to if he moves to Barcelona. That might be the exact reason why Barcelona never pushed more to sign him, despite being the first choice for the left wing. As for Rashford, I have a strong feeling he will do well at Barca.
I actually thought of this, and I told someone maybe this is one of the reasons why the Nico Williams deal was not possible. We already know how good Barcelona was from the last season, and seriously, their performance is incredible, and any new player that is brought in now, the fans will be expecting much from that player, and maybe Nico Williams feels he won’t meet up with the expectations.
That is why he didn’t show much interest in getting the deal done. Although the person was arguing with me, I’m happy I see someone who has the same mindset as me about this issue. Maybe it’s right the way you think of it; Williams may feel like he won’t be able to meet up, while we already know Rashford is a good player and will surely deliver the expected result.