Marcus Rashford looks like a player who’s been having a tough time. The sight of him in the training gear of a club other than the one where he grew up must be a shock to the system for him as much as the rest of us, but Rashford’s switch should be one of hope and rejuvenation.
The Manchester United forward joined Aston Villa on loan at the end of the January transfer window. With a reported option to make the move permanent and ongoing interest from Barcelona, an Old Trafford homecoming seems the least likely outcome.
Rashford’s status at Man United has been in decline for some time and he’s fallen away from the England picture at the worst possible time. Off-the-pitch distractions have been the subject of speculation among supporters and criticism of Rashford’s form in the shadow of his political work has been constant.
Rashford needs to find his feet again at Villa Park
Villa have gone out on a limb to bring Rashford into the fold. Getting the best out of him is a sizeable challenge for Unai Emery and the Villa staff, and the club’s ownership have evidently backed their manager.
Emery’s first order of business after the end of the transfer window was to select loan signings Rashford, Marco Asensio and Axel Disasi over permanent additions Donyell Malen and Andres Garcia as the three allowable additions to their Champions League squad, a mark of his regard for Rashford as a big-game player.
“The conversation I had with him was a very normal conversation between a player and a coach, speaking about football,” Emery told the media after confirming that Rashford would be included in the Champions League squad.
“The only thing I want from him is the best football. As a person, we’re introducing him into the dressing room as one player more helping us.”
By quickly shifting the focus back to football, Emery is seeking to give Rashford the platform his needs to shake off the baggage holding him back at Manchester United and take this chance to re-establish himself as a top Premier League forward.
It’s a tall task for the club, the manager and the player himself, but Villa might have the perfect club profile to get Rashford back on track.
Much of the reaction to Rashford’s loan centered around him getting out from under United than his destination.
It’s true that leaving was the essential first step towards rehabilitating his career, but it was a first step and no more. The onus is now on Villa and Rashford to make the other side of the deal work for them both.
Emery, ranked at number six in FourFourTwo’s list of the best managers in the world right now, has been an unqualified success since replacing Steven Gerrard at Villa Park, taking his team into the Champions League with their first top-four finish in a generation and then guiding them through the league stage at the first time of asking and straight into the Last 16.
Meticulous preparation and tactical planning are big parts of Emery’s management style but Rashford has joined a team full of individual players who’ve improved or thrived on Emery’s watch.
Morgan Rogers has impeccable pedigree but has only emerged as one of England’s most exciting young attacking players since he signed for Villa last January.
He’s not alone in benefiting from Emery’s impact. Villa captain John McGinn is a better player under Emery in just about every way, measurable or otherwise. Youri Tielemans is arguably in career-best form this season.
Even Boubacar Kamara and Ollie Watkins have stepped up a level, though Watkins will be eager to link up with Rashford in a way that unlocks his own frustrating season.
The United loanee is Emery’s next personnel test and might be the toughest he’s faced at Villa.
“My challenge with him is a huge challenge,” Emery told reporters. “I don’t want to know the reason he is leaving Manchester but I am very happy keeping him here and I am very happy to try to exploit and help him recover his performances.”
Villa’s owners believe Emery can pull it off. Rashford clearly agrees. There aren’t many clubs that would have been a better fit for Rashford’s specific circumstances and this loan could be the making of him.
The club themselves might be in the very same position.
‘It was a mistake to become Manchester City boss – I should have taken six months off. It wasn’t a very nice club at the time, and I didn’t do a particularly good job’: Former Premier League manager reflects on making wrong career decision
‘Klopp would have known him more and wanted to sign him over Salah. A lot of bosses can’t be persuaded by analysis, it’s to Jurgen’s credit that he was’: Liverpool nearly missed out on signing Mo Salah in 2017 as Jurgen Klopp preferred a different player
