Man United’s Marcus Rashford Expected to Join Aston Villa on Loan

Marcus Rashford of England in 2019
Marcus Rashford of England in 2019. Photo by BPI/Shutterstock (10286435lr)

Manchester United’s star striker Marcus Rashford is reportedly finalizing a deal to join Aston Villa on loan until the end of the season.

According to soccer insider Fabrizio Romano, the negotiations between the two clubs are in final stages and there is optimism that the deal will be wrapped up soon. Villa agreed to cover a substantial portion of Rashford’s £300,000 per week ($370,000) salary while also securing an option to make the transfer permanent in the summer.

Despite once being considered the future of Manchester United, Marcus Rashford has found himself at the exit door due to poor form and problematic behavior off the field. The club’s new head coach Ruben Amorim initially removed Rashford from his lineup in early December due to poor training performances and kept him out ever since while the player said he’s “ready for a new challenge” in a recent interview.

Rashford, who has seven goals in all competitions this season, was reportedly keen to join La Liga giants Barcelona but the move didn’t materialize due to the Spanish club’s dire financial situation. Bundesliga’s Borussia Dortmund was also interested but was unwilling to cover Rashford’s large salary.

Aston Villa, on the other hand, recently received a substantial financial injection after selling striker Jhon Durán to Saudi Arabia side Al Nassr for $80 million and jumped on the opportunity to add an impactful player.

Rashford went through Manchester United’s youth academy, which he joined as a seven-year-old, and made his professional debut in 2016. Since then, he played 426 games for the club in all competitions, scoring 138 goals and adding 63 assists, while winning two FA Cups and UEFA Europa League in 2016-17.

I am a reality TV junkie. My dream since I was a kid was to be on Big Brother, but until then you can catch me binge-watching episodes each summer.