According to The Athletic, Aston Villa are on the verge of completing a loan signing for falling Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford, and the transfer is expected to feature an option to buy.
But the 27-year-old has endured a turbulent time of it at Old Trafford in the season since under new head coach Ruben Amorim, who has publicly challenged Rashford’s work rate and mentality during training. Rashford has not been seen in the first team since he was dropped, along with Alejandro Garnacho, for the Manchester Derby on December 15.
Villa have emerged as the frontrunners despite interest from AC Milan, Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United. That became a priority after they received a £65million payment from Al Nassr for Jhon Duran, which left them with the funds to pay Rashford’s £325,000-a-week wages.
The chances of that happening were fuelled after Unai Emery was said to have been an advocate for the deal, seeing Rashford as a rejuvenation of their attacking options to be used as either a wide forward or a central striker. Having secured a top-four finish in the Premier League and reached the Champions League one year earlier than expected, Villa hope Rashford can recapture the form that saw him score 30 goals under Erik ten Hag in his first season in charge.
A United academy graduate, Rashford has made 426 appearances and scored 138 goals, but has been finding life hard this season to impress Amorim since his arrival in November.
