Aston Villa manager Unai Emery believes Marcus Rashford is “adapting fantastically” after handing the forward his first start for the Midlands club in last night’s thrilling 2-2 draw with Liverpool.
Rashford, 27, swapped Old Trafford for Villa Park in the final days of the January transfer window after a dispute with Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim saw the academy graduate omitted from match-day squads.
The loan deal until the end of the season brought an end, if only temporarily, to an uncomfortable situation which drew parallels between Amorim’s predecessor, Erik ten Hag, and Rashford’s former teammate Jadon Sancho.
Villa have agreed to cover 75% of Rashford’s exorbitant wage packet at United, though this may rise to 90% based on performance bonuses.
A £40 million buy-option has been included in the deal and, based on Emery’s assessment of Rashford’s first start under the Spaniard, it increasingly looks a price the Villains will be willing to pay come the summer.
Rashford has featured twice off the bench since joining Villa, producing impactful performances as a substitute against Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup and Ipswich Town in the Premier League.
But, with the Birmingham side hosting table toppers leaders Liverpool to Villa Park last night, Emery started the 27-year-old on the left-wing, likely hoping his pace on the counter would be able to exploit Trent Alexander-Arnold’s tendency to vacate the right-back position.
And, as explained by The Peoples Person in greater depth here, Rashford showed “flashes of brilliance” in a positive first-half performance. He even set up teammate Ollie Watkins to score after an excellent piece of skill, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
The United loanee tired in the second-half, failing to track Alexander Arnold’s marauding run which, ultimately, led to the right-back scoring Liverpool’s equaliser to make it 2-2. This will have been a familiar sight for Red Devils fans but it’s countered by Rashford not having started a match in nearly two months.
Emery was certainly impressed with his new forward’s efforts, describing how Rashford – along with fellow loanee Marcos Asencio – is “adapting fantastically” in his post-match interview.
“They played good [Asensio and Rashford]. They are adapting fantastically. They played 60-65 minutes so it’s another step forward from them by getting confidence and minutes, knowing the players and the idea. So they played good.”
Emery was believed to have been crucial to Villa’s successful pursuit of Rashford. The Spanish manager is evidently happy with what he’s seen from his new signing so far and, if this continues, will be pushing the executives at Villa Park to pay the £40 million fee at the end of the season.
Featured image Clive Mason via Getty Images
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Darragh Fox
Darragh is a writer for The Peoples Person who spent three years as a history graduate slowly realising football was by far the most interesting thing to write about.
