Marcus Rashford shirt number at Aston Villa gives lead role he never embraced at Manchester United

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Marcus Rashford’s saga has ended at Manchester United but the player remaining in the Premier League ensures the spotlight on him is never dim.

Aston Villa’s move for Marcus Rashford came out of nowhere and developed extremely quickly, and Rashford’s message after moving speaks of a player happy with his choice.

It’s a six-month loan where United will hope he can rediscover his love for the game while Villa will hope they can get the most out of buying a stressed asset.

Another unique dimension has been added to Rashford’s loan spell now after his shirt number is revealed, giving him a role he never embraced at Old Trafford.

Marcus Rashford’s shirt number at Aston Villa

Rashfor broke onto the scene with the number 39 due to Louis van Gaal’s insistence that a player playing up top should have a “9” in his jersey number.

As he progressed in stature, his number reduced to 19 but with time, it also became clear that he wasn’t going to be a striker.

In the 2018/19 season, his promotion as a key player at United was sealed with him getting the No. 10 shirt, arguably United’s most important one outside of the famed No. 7.

However, Aston Villa have handed him the No. 9 shirt despite “No. 10” being available in the wake of Emiliano Buendia’s departure.

While the days of the player’s shirt number deciding their role on the pitch are long gone (much to the frustration of football purists!), it is still quite a statement to make for Rashford and adds a unique dimension to the move.

Marcus Rashford as Man Utd’s striker

Rashford getting the No. 9 shirt is so interesting because that is a role he never embraced at Old Trafford, despite being trialled there multiple times by multiple managers.

As a striker at United, Rashford made 152 appearances across all competitions, scoring 59 goals and providing 20 assists.

More than the numbers, it was his visible frustration at playing up top that forced many managers into a tactical dilemma to accommodate him into the team.

His playing style of playing on the shoulder of the last defender, not wanting to engage in physical battles was hardly conducive to a team that needed its striker to stitch play together.

To further complicate matters, Villa have Ollie Watkins, the undisputed first-choice striker, and Unai Emery doesn’t like a two-striker system anyway.

In many ways, Rashford getting Jhon Duran’s number is poetic. Both are eccentric players who are unplayable on their day but are just too inconsistent and disruptive to answer all questions about their abilities.