2 days Ago By Leah Smith
Manchester United fans may never see Marcus Rashford play for the club again. The winger has joined Aston Villa on loan until the end of the season.One of Ruben Amorim’s first decisions since taking over from Erik ten Hag was to freeze Rashford out.
After weeks of speculation, the England international joined Unai Emery’s Villains on loan. The Midlands club negotiated a buy option worth £40 million in Rashford’s transfer, making a summer exit likely.Rashford has enjoyed a decent start to life in the Midlands.
He was one of Emery’s best players during Villa’s 1-1 draw against Ipswich Town last time out.And now preparing to host league leaders Liverpool on Wednesday night, Rashford is unsurprisingly the player everyone is talking about.READ: Rio Ferdinand breaks down how Chido Obi could have major impact on Manchester United dressing roomPhoto by Gareth Copley/Getty ImagesArne Slot a fan of Marcus RashfordSet to travel south to take on Emery’s top four chasing Villa, Liverpool will be expecting a tough mid-week matchup.
Rashford’s performance against the Tractor Boys has put him in contention to start, and Arne Slot is expecting the 27-year-old to cause his side problems.“Of course I knew Marcus Rashford from following the Premier League but the first time I faced him in real life was in the USA [preseason] tour and I was really impressed how fast he is,” Slot told ESPN.“He has a nice height and and he’s comfortable on the ball.
I think he’s a very good player. I hope that, for him, he is going to that Villa but not [on Wednesday]! I will be completely surprised if a player of that quality doesn’t show that in the upcoming months.”Clearly worried about the impact Rashford could have on Wednesday’s game, Slot seems to see qualities in Rashford that Amorim doesn’t.
Mind gamesVery few doubt Rashford’s ability. The problem, as United fans have witnessed for the past few years, is his up and down form and unwillingness to fulfil his potential.Rashford can devastate defences on his day, but his ‘days’ have been few and far between, and that level of inconsistency is unacceptable when he is one of the Premier League’s best-paid players.
While there is early excitement over the Englishman’s impact at Villa Park, Villa fans would be wise to give it a little longer before getting too giddy.As for Slot’s comments, it is hard to believe the Dutchman is being 100 per cent and not using the Rashford narrative as a way to heap the pressure on his upcoming opponents while also taking a sly dig at his rivals..
