OFFICIAL: Aston Villa complete Marcus Rashford transfer

Tom Weber

Updated: 2 Feb 2025 16:18 CST
3 min read

Aston Villa have announced the signing of Manchester United winger Marcus Rashford.

The England international has secured the 'new challenge' he has been so desperately craving. In December, Rashford announced his intention to leave his boyhood club Man Utd after being omitted from the Manchester Derby squad by head coach Ruben Amorim.

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In the wake of his comments, Rashford was essentially banished from the Red Devils squad, although he continued to train under Amorim. The Portuguese, however, was unhappy with his performances and clearly wanted to help the club hierarchy offload the winger's sizeable wages.

After plenty of speculation linking him with European giants, Rashford will stay in the Premier League after all - and he will even play Champions League football.

Aston Villa have now officially announced that they have loaned the 27-year-old until the end of the season. It is thought that the Birmingham club will pay a significant chunk of his wages, at least 75 per cent and, depending on performances, up to 90 per cent.

Villa also have a purchase option in the region of €48 million, meaning that Rashford could permanently depart Man Utd in the summer.

Aston Villa sign Rashford

Rashford will compete in the Champions League round of 16 with the Villans and the club's participation in Europe's premier competition was a deciding factor for the 60-time England international.

Head coach Unai Emery also played a massive role in the deal as he personally called Rashford to convince him to join when the winger was still favouring a move to Barcelona.

However, the Catalans failed to offload the necessary players to be able to sign the Man Utd star and a move to Villa was a persuasive last resort for Rashford.

It remains to be seen if Rashford can revive his career at Villa Park. Emery is known to be demanding of his players and the 27-year-old has already been warned that he may receive Amorim-like treatment if he doesn't improve his training performances.