Aston Villa are reportedly closing in on the loan signing of Marcus Rashford from Manchester United.
Villa are in the market for attacking reinforcements in the last few days of the January transfer window after selling Jhon Duran, while Emilano Buendia has joined Bayer Leverkusen on loan.
READ MORE: Emery outlines Villa transfer plan as signings expected ahead of deadline
Although Unai Emery still has quality options at his disposal in the final third, that leaves us short, and along with a new centre-half, a forward was seen as a priority ahead of the deadline.
According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, Villa are now close to agreeing a deal with Man Utd to sign Rashford on loan for the rest of the season, and he notes that we’ll cover a ‘significant portion’ of his salary while there will be performance-related bonuses.
It’s added that an option to buy is likely to be included in the agreement, and with Emery seemingly wanting the England international and the 27-year-old keen on a move to join Villa, this now looks as though it could go through.
There will be an element of scepticism given Rashford has effectively been frozen out by Ruben Amorim at Old Trafford due to suggested issues with his attitude and application in training.
However, if there is a coach who is able to help a player rediscover his best form or get back on track, it’s Emery, as we’ve seen with countless players in the current Villa squad.
If the Basque coach believes that Rashford is a key piece that we should add, and provided that the player arrives ready to find his best form again and make a pivotal impact, it’s hoped that this proves to be a genius temporary switch for Villa, that has the potential to lead to a long-term solution.
Nothing is official as of yet and so we’ll wait to see if it is confirmed, but this is a big opportunity for Rashford to start afresh and rebuild his career, while for Villa, we add another dangerous dynamic to our attack to go with Ollie Watkins, Morgan Rogers, Jacob Ramsey, Leon Bailey and Donyell Malen in the final third.
