Anthony Martial has sent a message to former Manchester United teammate Marcus Rashford after impressing on his Aston Villa debut.

Rashford left United earlier this month to join Villa on loan for the rest of the season. Unai Emery's side are paying more than 70 per cent of his reported £325,000 per-week wage and the West Midlands club have a £40million option to buy in the summer.

Having not played a single minute of competitive football since his exodus from the United fold in December, Rashford was introduced as a second-half substitute during Villa's 2-1 win over Tottenham on Sunday. Rashford came on in the 66th minute for Donyell Malen.

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Although Rashford got less than half an hour to showcase his abilities, first impressions were positive. Most Villa fans praised his cameo and felt that he looked sharper than expected, despite his lack of game time.

After the game, Rashford updated his social media followers with a message to the Villa faithful and thanked them for their support. He said on Instagram: "Thank you for the warm welcome. Great team performance," alongside a raising hands emoji.

In comments to that post, his ex-United teammate Martial, who left the club at the end of his contract last summer, decided to praise Rashford. He made his feelings clear on his former Old Trafford colleague by posting a fire and red love heart emojis in response.

Martial and Rashford combined on a number of occasions during their time at United. In fact, the pair directly contributed to 21 goals for United - the joint-most of any duo at the club.

Back in December 2019, Rashford heaped praise on Martial after they both scored during United's 2-0 win over Burnley. "He was brilliant again today," Rashford told BT Sport.

"For a forward, there’s nothing better than scoring goals. Hopefully it keeps his confidence high and this can continue until the end of the season. We could have been more clinical. Their centre-halves were heading away every single ball that came in and it wasn't easy, but we did well to get the win."