Marcus Rashford’s loan switch to Aston Villa continues to dominate the headlines.
After completing a loan move to Aston Villa, Marcus Rashford will spend the rest of the season at Villa Park.
Rashford will play in a side sat higher than Manchester United in the Premier League table and they’re also competing in the Champions League.
Over the past two years, Rashford has struggled for form and looks a shadow of his former self. He will hope to rejuvenate his career by moving to Villa but everyone has an opinion on how it will go.
Rashford went from being linked to AC Milan and Barcelona to joining Aston Villa, so it would be fair to say he was expecting more after publicly announcing that he wanted a new challenge away from Old Trafford.
Last chance for Marcus Rashford
Rashford had countless chances to turn things around at United, but Ruben Amorim demanded higher levels in training each day. That explains why he stopped selected Rashford for the match day squad.
Now, after joining Villa, Rashford has a chance to prove Amorim and his critics wrong. He will have fire in the belly doing so and we’re intrigued to see how he fits into Emery’s side.
The ESPN FC panel discussed Aston Villa’s business in January on the latest show and some big opinions on Rashford aired, including a strong take from Shaka Hislop.
Julien Laurens got the ball rolling by saying: “Let’s be clear, we all like Marcus Rashford as a person. He didn’t want to stay in the Premier League. He didn’t want to go to Aston Villa. He wanted to go to Barcelona or Milan, but two days again it happened that it was just Aston Villa.
“This is a move that can work. Of course, that is not the move he wanted. Let’s make that clear. This is not us being critical, it is the truth.”
Laurens continued to question Rashford’s attitude, but he hopes the England international can resurrect his career at Villa Park.
However, Hislop sent a firm warning to Rashford that he must prove himself at Villa: “Unai Emery has got the best out of this Villa side from the time he arrived. With a lesser squad, he was able to get the absolute best out of time, so you trust his ability to get the best out of the players.
“Surely Marcus Rashford will realise this is not a Joao Felix situation, he’s not going to bounce around to 4-5 clubs. It’s very much a last-chance saloon here.
“Given the money he is on, if you go to a club like Aston Villa with a manager like Unai Emery and replicate those performances and those attitudes you show under Ten Hag and Amorim, nobody is going to take a chance on him again.
“Surely he has got to recognise that and address that himself.”
Rashford playing for a summer move
It is now clear that Rashford wanted more than Villa when he planned to leave United this month.
The only way to secure a move to bigger club in the summer is by performing at his highest level.
It bodes well that Villa are in flying form this season because Rashford is joining a team that is playing well at least. That means he will have no excuses if he underperforms like he did in United’s first team.
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