According to Unai Emery, the club has not decided whether to make Marcus Rashford’s loan agreement at Aston Villa a permanent one.
The English winger helped lead the Villans to the FA Cup semi-finals against Crystal Palace by scoring twice against Preston North End.
With only three starts under Ruben Amorim prior to his January transfer, Rashford’s performances on the field for Villa stand in stark contrast to his performances for Manchester United earlier this season.
“Not yet,” Emery said in response to inquiries about whether a decision had been made to convert Rashford’s loan into a permanent agreement following his team’s FA Cup victory.
The challenge today and this afternoon, recuperating, and then getting ready for the game versus Brighton tomorrow are the most crucial things.
“The goal of each player’s decision is to get the most out of each of us. We don’t want to squander time considering it.
For a reputed £40 million, Villa may permanently sign Rashford from Manchester United, although the team may experience financial difficulties in the summer and will need to carefully consider the advantages and disadvantages of any acquisition.
Should Villa acquire Rashford on a long-term basis?
Rashford had four assists in his previous six games for Emery’s team, but his goals against Preston were his first for the team.
Even though the winger has only played one full game for Villa and made five starts for Emery, he has managed to contribute in the majority of his appearances.
Rashford played his final game for Manchester United on December 12 against Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League. He then played in the FA Cup on February 9 for Aston Villa against Tottenham Hotspur.
It makes sense that it would take the 27-year-old some time to return to the field after going so long without playing.
Villa would like to sign the attacker long-term so that he can return to his 2022–2023 form, when he scored 30 goals and contributed nine assists for United across all competitions.
During that season, Rashford also scored goals against the best teams in the league, including Arsenal (3), Manchester City (1), Liverpool (1), Chelsea (1), Tottenham Hotspur (1), and Barcelona (1).
Rashford can threaten even the strongest defenses when he is playing at his best, so if his play keeps getting better, Villa might want to take advantage of their buyout option before it expires.