Former Man Utd defender Raphael Varane has revealed his shock at Marcus Rashford’s decision to leave Old Trafford for Aston Villa in January.
The England international swapped Old Trafford for Villa Park in the January transfer window after falling down the pecking order under Ruben Amorim at Man Utd.
Amorim left Rashford out of all but one matchday squad after their 2-1 win over Man City in the Manchester Derby in December, with the forward admitting he was ready for a “new challenge” if it came his way.
Man Utd boss Amorim revealed that Rashford’s performances in training were below par and even claimed he’d rather select goalkeeping coach Jorge Vital over the 27-year-old.
That led Aston Villa sealing a late loan move for Rashford before the transfer deadline with the Villans possessing a £40m option to make the transfer permanent in the summer window.
And former Man Utd team-mate Varane thinks Rashford leaving the negative atmosphere at Old Trafford is “positive” but is shocked that the England international decided to leave for a close Premier League rival.
Varane said in The Athletic: “Staying for so many years with this level of intensity and demand, years when the overall atmosphere is often negative because performances are below expectations, it’s very, very difficult.
“For him to change his environment is positive. He is someone who loves the club and who gives everything for the shirt.
“But I’m surprised he’s going so close to Manchester. I imagined him going further than a few kilometres away.”
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And now former Man Utd chief scout Mick Brown – who is still well-connected at Old Trafford – insists the Red Devils will “be forced to accept cut-price offers” for Rashford in the summer.
Brown told Football Insider: “Marcus Rashford is still a top-class player. He’s got some great assets, he can ghost past players, he sees things in and around the box he can exploit, and he strikes the ball brilliantly.
“It’s up to the coaches and managers to get the best out of him. But there are many reasons why that hasn’t happened at Man United.
“In the couple of appearances he’s made for Villa, you have to wonder how United allowed a player like that to leave the club with the current state of the squad.
“If they think they can get somebody better in, they’d better have a load of money in the bank. They hoped that, if he does really well at Villa, somebody might come in and pay top money for him.
“That would probably be the best situation for everybody concerned. But that’s not going to happen – clubs are going to come in and try to get him on the cheap.
“They know about his situation with Amorim, they know that’s not likely to resolve itself, they know United are looking to move him on and they know that if they don’t, he won’t be involved.
“So in that case, United need to sell, but because clubs know that, they’re not going to pay over the odds. I think they’ll be forced to accept cut-price offers and they’d do well to get any huge fee for him.”
