Aston Villa in transfer talks with Manchester United over surprise loan
Aston Villa are considering a loan move for Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford as Unai Emery looks to reinforce his forward line after the club agreed to sell Jhon Duran.
The Colombia international is due to complete his £65m move to Al-Nassr shortly and Villa are working to replace him. Joao Felix and Marco Asensio are both known to be long-standing targets for Emery, while Villa also hold an interest in Matheus Cunha.
Now, it has emerged that United forward Rashford is an option for Emery, with The Athletic reporting that the Villa boss has personally requested that the club enters talks.
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The 27-year-old is available for loan having been left out of United's team for the last 12 matches by Ruben Amorim. Barcelona had looked into the situation, but a move to Spain for Rashford appears unlikely at this stage.
It has been claimed that Rashford’s preference has been to join the La Liga giants or stay at United and therefore Villa will have to sell a move to him. His £325,000 per week contract is also a complicating factor to a possible move.
Meanwhile, Emery confirmed that Ollie Watkins - who is of interest to Arsenal - is happy to remain at the club beyond the February 3 deadline.
"The commitment of Watkins is really a huge commitment to defend Aston Villa," Emery explained. "He appreciates how Aston Villa was always supporting him and helping him. Also, when we joined two years ago, how we always tried to get the best of him.
"Now we need him, like he needed Aston Villa in the last years. The conversation we are having usually is about how he is always adapting to every circumstance.
"When some teams are calling us being interested in the players, it is good for us and the players. Some players prefer to leave and some players accept to stay here and commit to Aston Villa and compete for our challenges. One of them is Ollie Watkins."
Asked if Watkins has told Emery he is happy to stay, the Villa boss responded: "Yes, he is happy to stay. We asked him how he is feeling and he is happy here."