‘Fully agreed’ – Aston Villa closing in on £46m signing after breakthrough
A buy option clause is being discussed and, although the potential fee is unclear, there’s a decent chance Rashford could join permanently in the summer. According to Transfermarkt, the 27-year-old’s current market value is €55 million (£46m).
Emery had admitted it’s not a priority to sign another attacker this month with the likes of Donyell Malen and Morgan Rogers capable of playing just in behind Ollie Watkins, but it’s still an area he’d prefer to strengthen in than not. It now appears Villa will do just that with the addition of Rashford.
Predominantly a left winger but also capable of playing off the right or as an out-and-out centre-forward, Rashford has racked up an extraordinary 426 appearances, 138 goals and 63 assists for United. The Red Devils academy product has never left his boyhood club, so his next move is a vitally important one.
Ruben Amorim willing to let Marcus Rashford join Aston Villa
Man Utd manager Ruben Amorim has refused to select Rashford for matches over the past couple of months despite the attacker being fit and available. The United boss has explained on several occasions that the desired attitude and effort levels are severely lacking.
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Last week, Amorim rather brutally admitted he’d rather play his goalkeeping coach, Jorge Vital, if it meant he’d get 100 per cent commitment. “It’s the same situation for every player. If you do the maximum, if you do the right things, we can use every player,” Amorim said.
“And you can see it today on the bench – we miss a little bit of pace to go to change the game, to move some pieces, but I prefer [it] like that. I will put Vital before I put a player that doesn’t give the maximum every day, so I will not change in that.”
The last time Rashford featured for Man Utd was on December 12, as he played 56 minutes in the 2-1 away win at Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League. It appeared Rashford had turned a positive corner just a few weeks before as he scored three goals in two Premier League matches – against Ipswich Town and Everton – but he’s since fallen well out of favour.
