DONE DEAL: Aston Villa finally sign Manchester United star striker Marcus Rashford on a loan deal
DONE DEAL: Aston Villa finally sign Manchester United star striker Marcus Rashford on a loan deal
Aston Villa close to loan deal for Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford; Sky Sports News understands Villa’s move comes as a result of Jhon Duran’s move to Al Nassr; Unai Emery addressed Rashford link after Villa’s defeat at Wolves on Saturday
Aston Villa are close to agreeing a loan deal with Manchester United for Marcus Rashford.
Discussions are ongoing over whether the loan will come with an option to buy this summer.
Villa are set to cover a significant portion of Rashford’s wages during his time at Villa Park.
Sky Sports News understands Villa have made the move as a result of the sale of Jhon Duran to Al Nassr.
Unai Emery’s side are also interested in Paris Saint-Germain’s Marcos Asensio and Chelsea’s Joao Felix, as confirmed by Villa’s president of football operations Monchi.
Speaking after Villa’s 2-0 defeat at Wolves on Saturday, Emery said his side continue to work on “different players” in the transfer window.
“To sign one striker is not easy. We have some players. Usually Watkins is being consistent, playing matches, recovering strong and playing matches in a row, two or three matches. But he got injured (against Wolves). Hopefully, it is small.
“The idea is if we can replace Jhon Duran with a striker, a potential player who can help us with the level we want, we will do. If not, we can use versatile players like Donyell Malen.”
When specifically asked on Rashford links, Emery added: “We will know on Monday how we have finished.”
Rashford’s turbulent January
Seven speculation-filled weeks have passed since Rashford last played for his boyhood club in the Europa League trip to Viktoria Plzen – and he remains in the cold ahead of Monday’s 11pm deadline.
The England international last month revealed he was “ready for a new challenge”, but few clubs offer an obvious landing spot thanks in no small part to his wages.
Rashford was left out of United’s 21-man squad for Thursday’s Europa League win at FCSB despite the forward training with his team-mates on the eve of the match.
Man Utd boss Ruben Amorim suggested last weekend after the 1-0 win at Fulham he would currently rather have United’s 63-year-old goalkeeping coach in his squad than Rashford.
There have been reports this week that Amorim and Rashford were no longer on speaking terms.
Amorim has left the door open for Rashford to fight his way back into first-team contention, saying United are “a better team with Rashford” but he ” has to change” before he can force his way back into the first-team reckoning.
‘Only two viable proposals’
Latest from Sky Sports News’ Dharmesh Sheth:
There was lots of interest in Marcus Rashford in this transfer window, but only two viable proposals – from Aston Villa and a second unnamed Premier League club.
The other approaches required United to cover a substantial portion of Rashford’s wages – something they were not prepared to do, as the will to leave has come from the player.
While Rashford’s preference earlier this window was to go to Barcelona, a move to Villa will satisfy his desire to play Champions League football.
Man Utd’s Tel move rests on Rashford leaving
Manchester United could move for Bayern Munich’s Mathys Tel, once they have finalised a deal for Rashford to leave Old Trafford.
United have made their interest in a loan move for Tel known to Bayern. He is one of a number of targets the club are looking at.
United have always been in a position during this window of having to facilitate a departure before bringing anyone in.
It is thought Tel is open to the move, after rejecting the chance to go to Tottenham Hotspur.
United are aware that there are other clubs in the Premier League and Europe interested in Tel.
Merse: Rashford should move abroad
Sky Sports’ Paul Merson on The Transfer Show:
“Rashford has to go abroad – he needs a change. The problem is wherever he goes, he has to take his head with him.
“People think he can go to Italy, Spain or Barcelona – while it’s a different club, he will still have to take his head with him.
“And that’s the problem: he’s not running around. When your manager is telling you you’re not running around, there’s nothing worse than that. That’s the worst.
“So that’s what he has got to understand. I’m not a Man Utd fan but they’re still one of the biggest clubs in the world. Wherever he goes, he will be downgrading.
“I think Rashford’s next game will be at Man Utd. I just don’t see who takes him and it’s just his big wages. You’re not buying someone bang in form, scoring goals left, right and centre. You want someone to come in and hit the ground running.
“Time’s a healer. As soon as this transfer window is shut, he has to play if he stays. The manager will be told in the end. If Man Utd are 13th or 14th in the league, he will have to play.”
‘Rashford may want Barca – but he would get regular football at Villa’
Sky Sports News’ chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol on The Transfer Show:
“Aston Villa are looking to sign forward players over the next few days. They have lost Jhon Duran, who is on his way to Saudi Arabia, and Emi Buendia has moved to Germany on loan. They need to bring in reinforcements.
“We’ve been talking about their options and players they have been looking at over the last couple of days – a new name now is Marcus Rashford. He’s a player they could make a move for in the next 72 hours.
“Unai Emery is a big fan of Rashford and everybody knows Rashford is available on loan.
“I think he may want to go to Barcelona, but let’s be realistic. He’s not playing for Manchester United, is he really going to be playing regularly for Barcelona when they’ve got players like Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha? Is he going to get the regular football he wants?
“That leads to the question of would he be better off going to somewhere like Aston Villa, where I think he would get regular football.”
Would Rashford be guaranteed a first-team role at Villa?
Sky Sports’ Patrick Rowe:
“Rashford has played his best football on the left so this link arrives at an interesting time for Villa and Rashford, given Jacob Ramsey looks to be recapturing his finest form.
“The 23-year-old scored against West Ham and provided two assists against Celtic. If he maintained this run, there are no guarantees that Rashford would have the starting role he desires at Villa.
“Versatility is held in high regard by Emery so playing with Watkins up front or out on the right, given Leon Bailey’s struggles, are also possibilities.
“Finances and his role in the team are two major obstacles that would need to be hurdled to make a deal possible. The other problem is which Rashford would Villa be getting.
“Emery has a track record of getting the best out of players so if he could get him close to the player we saw in 2022/23, who scored 17 goals in the Premier League, it would be a gamble worth taking for Villa.
“But as the saga with Jhon Duran also demonstrated, Emery has little-to-no patience for off-the-field antics.”
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