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Manchester United attacker Marcus Rashford is looking like he’s coming to the end of his time with The Red Devils as he thrives on loan with Aston Villa.
The 27-year-old joined The Red Devils 20 years ago at the age of eight, rising through the academy and becoming a vital part of the squad over recent years.
In the 2022/23 season, Rashford recorded his career-best goal contributions, with 30 goals and 12 assists in 56 games as he helped United achieve third in the Premier League, runners up of the FA Cup and victors of the Carabao Cup.
However, since then the striker-turned-winger has failed to impress under Erik ten Hag and then Ruben Amorim.
The Red Devils began considering offloading their academy graduate due to his excessive wage demands of £315,000 per week, and his off-field antics affecting his on-pitch focus.
Unfortunately for the club, no suitors were willing to discuss a permanent move due to his wages, and with no improvement in his attitude, Rashford was ultimately dropped from the squad by Amorim.
However, in January Aston Villa came knocking, signing the United wantaway on loan with an option to buy for £40 million at the end of the season.
Since moving, Rashford has been thriving, with three goals and six assists in 15 games, including setting up Ezri Konsa in tonight’s win over PSG.
Villa went into tonight’s Champions League game 3-1 down on aggregate, with the 3-2 win not quite enough to defeat the Ligue 1 leaders.
Unfortunately an early mistake from Rashford led to PSG securing a goal in the 11th minute as a poor touch led to a counter attack ending in Achraf Hakimi scoring.
However, Rashford redeemed himself with a stand out performance, earning praise from former teammate Wayne Rooney and former Premier League striker Daniel Sturridge.
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Marcus Rashford receives praise for in-form loan spell with Aston Villa
Speaking on Amazon Prime, Sturridge heaped significant praise on Rashford, discussing his loan move, saying: “The narrative before he came here was that he’s not the same player any more.”
He continued: “That was the narrative. He’s proven everyone wrong.”
“We have to give him credit. There was a big narrative out there that Marcus Rashford is not the same player, and Ruben Amorim was correct about everything. But Marcus Rashford has come here and shown everybody this is who I am, and this is how I play. This is what I can bring to the table.
“As a football player, sometimes when a manager doesn’t fancy you, it’s up to you to show them: ‘I am good enough’. This is what I can do. Sometimes you are not going to get the love from the manager, and you have to go on loan or fight for my spot.
“[Marcus] has chosen to come here and it has worked out for him. Sometimes you make these decisions and it goes the other way. I’m really proud of him that he’s come here and shown everybody what it is all about.”
Adding to these points raised by the former attacker, Rooney commented on Villa’s need to secure Champions League football to retain top players like Rashford, despite his desire to see the attacker back at Old Trafford.
Rooney commented: “This is what I was saying before about Aston Villa needing Champions League to attract top players. And Marcus Rashford clearly feels he has a better chance of performing better and winning trophies with Aston Villa.”
He continued: “That’s a big worry for Manchester United, but for Aston Villa, that’s a positive sign. From Marcus Rashford’s point of view, I really want to see him like he was tonight, showing all his qualities.”
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Source: Centred Devils
