Rashford to help Aston Villa land Duran replacement

Cameron Smith

• 7 Jan 2025 18:45 GMT
• 3 min read

Manchester United outcast Marcus Rashford could help Aston Villa secure their first signing of the 2025 January transfer window.

The former England international recently admitted that he is “ready for a new challenge”, and he is expected to leave Old Trafford this year after losing his place under Ruben Amorim.

Rashford hasn’t featured for Man Utd since their 2-1 win over Viktoria Plzen on 12 December and he has been linked with a number of clubs across Europe as the Red Devils look to offload him in January.

READ MORE: Aston Villa agree personal terms with €30m attacker as Duran rumours persist

FootballTransfers understands that a transfer to Arsenal is currently unlikely, but Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan and Juventus are all considering a loan move, according to The Athletic.

A number of Premier League clubs are also interested, however Dortmund’s eagerness to sign Rashford could help Aston Villa in their pursuit of Donyell Malen.

Malen has already agreed personal terms with Unai Emery’s side, but the club are yet to finalise a transfer fee with Borussia Dortmund.

READ MORE: Rashford exit picking up steam as Man Utd receive SEVERAL offers

However, Villa are reportedly hopeful of reaching a breakthrough in talks over the next few days and Rashford’s potential loan move to the Signal Iduna Park could help speed the process along.

If Dortmund are able to fight off significant competition to land the Man Utd star on loan this month, it could push them to offload Malen as soon as possible.

Jhon Duran to leave Aston Villa?

Villa’s pursuit of Malen comes following speculation that Jhon Duran could leave the club amid interest from Paris Saint-Germain.

The 21-year-old has only started four Premier League games so far this season, with Ollie Watkins preferred by Emery, and Ligue 1 giants PSG are interested in signing him.

Randal Kolo Muani has amassed just 453 minutes of action across all competitions since the beginning of the 2024-25 campaign, and Duran is being targeted as his replacement.