Emi Martinez problem, £15m issue, future clues - Marcus Rashford's Aston Villa fate decided
It has been described as the best deal of the January transfer window, a huge gamble and a lot in between those two extremes.
It’s fair to say Marcus Rashford’s transfer from Manchester United to Aston Villa has sparked plenty of debate. And it will likely continue throughout his loan at Villa Park for the rest of the season and into the summer when his permanent future will be decided.
Will his loan at Villa be a success? Will he end up staying at Villa Park permanently? These are the two big questions and, below, we’ve had our say on exactly those subjects.
READ MORE: Ollie Watkins transfer split revealed as 'door opened' on Arsenal deal
READ MORE: Aston Villa favourite questions 'mind-blowing' Marcus Rashford transfer
Brian Dick
If Rashford can’t succeed at Villa then I’d have grave concerns about his future at the top level and his chances of performing in the Champions League/Premier League top six/international arena.
Unai Emery has built an effective machine in which every player knows their role, with the ball and without it. Rashford will be in no doubt as to what is expected of him, where he needs to be and what he needs to do when he goes on the pitch.
If, as seems likely, he’s deployed on the left he will be in his preferred position and there will simply be no room for excuses. At that point it’s up to him.
I would imagine he will feel a weight lifted from his shoulders and hopefully, for player and team, he’s been liberated. But do I expect him to instantly return to his 2022/23 best? Honestly I don’t. He’s been unrecognisable as the player that plundered 30 goals in one season for Erik ten Hag for so long that I think it’ll take him time to rediscover his best.
That said, a debut goal could have him up and running and he could be vintage Rashford. He’d better hope so because if he can’t do it under Emery, the rescuer of careers, then where will he?
And even if he does, I’m not convinced he’ll be at Villa next season anyway. He’s been talking about ‘short term’ and ‘making the most of my time’.
If he plays nearly every game and bags goals and assists, he’ll fancy himself a Champions League giant, like PSG or Barcelona, if not – why would Villa sign him anyway.
Keith Wales
Aston Villa have taken a huge risk in signing Marcus Rashford, and also invested a significant amount in a player who arrives with considerable baggage.
There is no doubt that the 27-year-old is a talent, and one who offers Unai Emery more options up front than Jhon Duran could. The hope for Villa fans is that Rashford really wants to be at their club and has not just taken the least painful exit route out of Manchester United when Europe’s elite failed to show a sustained interest in his signature.
If he delivers, Villa will have a player on their hands - and be keen to ensure Rashford sticks around once his short-term deal is over in the summer. If not, Villa might ultimately struggle to match last season’s achievements, particularly a return to Champions League football. However, Emery’s recruitment team have enough credit in the bank to occasionally get one wrong, so there should be no lasting fallout from a failed Rashford experiment.
In many respects, it does not appear to be a typical Emery deal. The Spaniard has tended to look abroad for his recruits rather than at pricey Premier League players. All Villa fans must be hoping this is one gamble that pays off handsomely for both club and player. Then everyone will be smiling come the end of the season.
James Pallatt
I just can’t see it. I can’t.
I hope Marcus Rashford’s loan at Aston Villa works out for the best for the club and the player. It would be great to see him get back to his best under Unai Emery and, who knows, help Villa win some silverware before the end of the season. But I have my doubts he will join the club permanently in the summer.
I know there’s a clause in the loan deal with Manchester United for Villa to buy him for around £40m so Monchi could agree a good deal with United if Rashford thrives at Villa Park and Emery wants to keep him beyond the end of the season. But there’s one glaring issue - Rashford’s wages. He is said to be on over £300,000 a week at Old Trafford which is an astronomical amount.
I know Villa are said to be paying a huge chunk of his wages during his loan, but would they be willing to commit to anything close to £300,000 a week for a player in the long term?
Villa and United could well agree on a £40m transfer in the summer, but that doesn’t mean Rashford will agree terms on any permanent deal at Villa Park. I think he would have to accept a big cut in wages to make it happen. It would be hard for Villa to even justify Rashford being their top earner when you have World Cup winner Emi Martinez in the building.
And ultimately if, come the end of the season, Rashford’s back scoring goals for fun again he will likely attract interest from other clubs around Europe who could match Villa in terms of a stage to play on, Champions League and all that, and beat them on wages. And there is usually only one outcome when that happens.
Joe Chapman
It might feel like a cop-out of an answer, but this really can go one of two ways. Rashford is undoubtedly a talent, electric on his day, but those days haven't been too frequent in recent times - and, let's be honest, if they were, he wouldn't be at Villa.
It feels like the signing of Philippe Coutinho, a high profile signing with plenty of fanfare, but Villa have had their fingers burned previously and there are lessons to learn. Coutinho burst onto the claret and blue scene with fabulous performances against Manchester United, Leeds United and Southampton, but he delivered little after that. Villa will be wiser for that.
In Unai Emery, Villa now have in situ a brilliant handler of footballers and, as various pundits have said, Rashford has few excuses not to shine in these coming months. Working under an excellent coach, in a well oiled team, surrounded by familiar faces from the England scene, he should settle quickly and be out to remind everyone of the extent of his abilities.
What happens beyond that is anyone's guess. Rashford is a player who, at 27, should be at the absolute peak of his powers for club and country right now, certainly based on what he's delivered in his career up to now. The change of environment may just reignite that spark and redeliver the glint in Rashford's game.
