Aston Villa are hurtling towards the signing of Marcus Rashford with sources revealing a deal is close to being finalised after Unai Emery personally stepped in to push the move along and amid a revelation at how their Premier League rivals can fund a deal.
The 27-year-old has been headline news for several weeks now after being excluded from Ruben Amorim’s matchday squad for their derby day win at Manchester City on December 15 and having then confirmed his wish to leave his hometown club and try something new. Having failed to make a single appearance for Manchester United since December 12 – missing their last 11 games since that Etihad Stadium win – it very much seems like Rashford has kicked his last ball for the Red Devils.
However, finding a new home for the attacker has proved anything but easy with United’s hefty valuation of a minimum £50m – together with the player’s sizeable salary of £325,000 a week – proving two very difficult obstacles for his suitors to overcome.
And while Dwaine Maynard, Rashford‘s brother and agent, has held talks have been held with several top European sides, the likes of Barcelona, AC Milan, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Marseille and Monaco have not been able to finalise his signing for one reason or another.
That has left Rashford in something of a state of limbo and while Amorim has offered up something of an olive branch to the player that suggests there remains a way he can salvage his Old Trafford career, it has emerged over the last 24 hours that Aston Villa have thrown their hat into the ring over a late deal.
It has previously been stated that Rashford was opposed to the idea of moving to another English side, while United themselves were also opposed to allowing the 27-year-old to join a Premier League rival.
However, with time ticking on the window, the Manchester Evening News now reports a move to take Rashford on loan to Villa Park for the remainder of the season is ‘progressing’ and that there is now real ‘optimism’ that a deal can be done. Furthermore, the player has emerged as the club’s top priority to boost their attack after the £64m exit of Jhon Duran to Al Nassr.
Per TEAMtalk transfer insider Fraser Fletcher, the move to take Rashford to Villa Park is now ‘at an advanced stage’ and it is our understanding that a deal will be completed ahead of Monday’s deadline.
It’s also claimed by The Athletic that Aston Villa boss Emery has ‘personally requested’ his signing and that he is a ‘big fan’ of the player and has a confidence he can help him return to his very best form. Those sentiments have also already been expressed to Rashford’s entourage as they weigh up the next move for the player.
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United’s previous insistence that they wanted a large portion of Rashford’s £325,000 a week salary covered by his suitors has certainly proved cumbersome to finding the player a new home.
Yet as the window has progressed, United have been forced to rein back on those demands and it’s now been made clear that they will both accept a move without an obligation to buy and – in a move that is key for Villa – are also now willing to accept a 50/50 split on his wages. The latter had previously only been deemed possible had his potential suitors agreed to a obligation to buy.
But as time has slipped away, United’s demands have also too been scaled back.
As a result, even Villa’s coverage of half of his wages – some £162,500 a week – would make the player their best-paid player – and ahead of the £150,000 a week that current top earner, Youri Tielemans, takes home each week.
However, Villa do have a hole to fill in their attack and their progress through to the last 16 of the Champions League – confirmed this week after the 4-2 win over Celtic at Villa Park, which guaranteed a top-eight finish – will go some way to covering that outlay.
Emery, having rejected an offer from Arsenal for Ollie Watkins on Wednesday, is also optimistic his side can add to their ranks before the window slams shut.
“Hopefully in two or three days we can join two or three players with us,” Emery told a press conference. “I am going to be very motivated to get collectively here our objective. It is not normal, at the moment, what we are doing in this transfer window. But there are different circumstances we have to accept.
“There are still a few days until we close the transfer window and the club is working and we have to do something fast. I am very happy with how the players are responding. We played some matches where players were close to leaving and we were responding and getting the performance we needed. I am proud of them.
“It is going to be difficult joining more players with us in the next few days. But we are being a very good team competing in different competitions with the players we have had. I am happy, for example, how Lamare Bogarde is responding and progressing. When we are missing players it is an opportunity for others, like him.
“In case we are keeping the same squad and not adding players I will be confident we can compete in the Premier League and Champions League. But of course, we are trying to add better, add more options to play with capacity and skill they can add.”
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With time ticking away, a report has revealed Amorim is desperate to offload both Rashford and Casemiro before the window slams shut with neither playing figuring in his plans.
Meanwhile, United are believed to have secured a major leg-up in the race to sign Mathys Tel.
The classy France U21 international has confirmed his wish to leave Bayern Munich this month and has been on the radars of several top Premier League sides, with Chelsea, Arsenal, United, Tottenham and more recently Villa all credited with an interest.
And after Tottenham saw a deal accepted but the proposal rejected by the player, sources have revealed to us that it is United who are the player’s top choice. That said, there are obvious hurdles to overcome and a deal now looks to be on the backburner.
On the subject of new strikers, United are one of two Premier League clubs to have been offered a chance to sign Victor Boniface, with Bayer Leverkusen’s asking price having come to light.
Rashford’s G/A record for Man Utd over the years