Rio Ferdinand reckons the “shackles are off” for Marcus Rashford at Aston Villa and backed the forward to thrive away from Manchester United like three of his former teammates.
Rashford joined Villa at the end of the January transfer window on loan with an option to buy, and made his debut in the 2-1 FA Cup win over Tottenham.
After the game, Jadon Sancho – who left United for Chelsea in the summer – posted ‘freedom’ in a comment on Rashford’s Instagram, accompanied by a blessing and raised hands emoji, in reference to his United escape.
In response to Sancho’s comment, which has angered United fans, Ferdinand attempted to pinpoint why a number of players are thriving away from Old Trafford.
“You look at Antony, he’s got a man-of-the-match performance and a goal and assist in two games,” Ferdinand said on his Rio Presents podcast.
“McTominay is playing like primetime Jude Bellingham at the moment. You’ve got Elanga, who’s a flying winger.
“You’ve got all these players that are leaving the club that are looking like new, dynamic footballers because the shackles are off, and the cloud and the pressure of Old Trafford, the badge, all that that brings, is allowing them to go ‘you know what, wow, what a difference that is’.
“You’re probably going to see the same from Rashford. It’s about unlocking what has unlocked Old Trafford for these players to perform.”
Former United goalkeeper Ben Foster believes the comment from Sancho is evidence of the “toxicity” at Old Trafford.
“What is he doing? That’s ridiculous because he is still actually employed by Manchester United, so is Marcus Rashford,” Foster said on his podcast, Ben Foster – The Cycling GK.
“It just reeks of toxicity at United. It reeks of an unhappy place to be, that everybody’s buzzing for someone to get out [of the club].”
Rashford’s Villa debut was promising, but his signing hasn’t pleased everyone, with The Athletic claiming that fellow January arrival Donyell Malen was left ‘deeply disappointed’ after the England international was included in Aston Villa’s Champions League squad, while the former Borussia Dortmund forward was left out.
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Malen, who played in last season’s Champions League final, arrived in the winter transfer window as Aston Villa’s first signing with Aston Villa agreeing a €26m fee with Dortmund for his services.
Speaking after signing his contract at Aston Villa, Malen said: “It’s a big thing, the Champions League. It’s the biggest competition in the world. I played in it for the last few years so for me it was a very important thing when deciding to move. This is where you want to play.”
Explaining how he had to make a difficult conversation with Malen, Aston Villa boss Unai Emery said: “Of course, it’s not a good decision I had to take yesterday, but I spoke with Andres and Donyell to tell them the decision and I argued my decision with them.
“I spoke with him [Malen] and tried to be honest and knowing it was not fair for him. But the necessary decision I had to take was in that direction.”
