Former Premier League manager Sam Allardyce hopes to see Marcus Rashford rejuvenate his career at Aston Villa.
Following on from a 12-match exile enforced by Ruben Amorim, it was clear that Marcus Rashford needed to find a new club, even temporarily.
Rashford joined Aston Villa on a deal until the end of the season, which includes an option to buy for £40 million. It is also understood that Villa are covering a minimum of 75% of Rashford’s wages.
Pre-existing concerns about Rashford’s attitude and application were flagged and speculated on, but the 27-year-old has started brightly at Villa Park.
Rashford recorded two assists against Chelsea last weekend but he was unable to inspire Villa to victory as they lost against Crystal Palace on Tuesday night, after coming off the bench to try to help his new team-mates come from behind.
Sam Allardyce warns Marcus Rashford with Jesse Lingard comparison
There is a chance Rashford could leave United’s head coach red-faced if he continues to perform under Unai Emery.
United are still lacking goals and the situation was made worse recently when Amad Diallo was ruled out for the remainder of the campaign.
Allardyce believes Rashford was in desperate need of inspiration elsewhere to recharge his career.
“He [Rashford] doesn’t fit into that type of system,” Allardyce said on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast.
“He’s got to prove himself for the first time in a long time. As a kid, he had to prove himself by being good enough to break inot United’s first team, now he has to prove himself to the Aston Villa players.
“He’s going out there with a new manager and new teammates and that’s got to inspire him, rather than languishing at Man United.”
The ex-England manager referenced Jesse Lingard’s United exit and how he briefly turned things around under David Moyes at West Ham.
Lingard, 32, is currently playing his football South Korea and Allardyce has warned that things could go similar for Rashford if he makes the wrong decisions.
“It reminds me of Jesse Lingard, he was languishing at Man United and then Moyes rescued him.
“Lingard made the worst mistake ever not going with Moyes to West Ham. He went to Forest and just petered out again and now he’s somewhere obscure in South Korea.
“This was an England international player in his early 20s. Players moving is the biggest thing you can do.
“If you’re stagnating at your football club, pack your bag and move on, because your football career will soon be finished before you know it.”
Rashford won’t want his career to suffer from bad decisions. There’s a real chance he could settle at Villa and remain part of Emery’s squad next season.
Rashford struggles in recent Aston Villa display
It was a bad night for Villa in the Premier League as they suffered a 4-1 defeat against Crystal Palace.
Rashford was brought off the bench in the second half and played 22 minutes.
However, the England international was unable to turn the game around in Villa’s favour.
Rashford touched the ball 11 times and made just three passes throughout his cameo. Other than that, he offered nothing.
Emery’s decision to name Rashford as a substitute following his two assists at the weekend came as a surprise to many pundits, but United fans became familiar with the sight of him sitting on the bench earlier this season.
The jury is still out on Rashford.
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