CONFIRMED: Aston Villa to complete first summer transfer as Rashford bombshell lands

Robin Bairner

19 Mar 2025 04:00 CDT
4 min read

Marco Asensio, Marcus Rashford, Aston Villa, 2024/25 — © IMAGO

Aston Villa are poised for a busy summer, with one of their major targets likely to be the permanent signing of on-loan Manchester United star.

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Unai Emery’s side are in a strong period, having won five of their last six games, pushing them into the quarter-finals of the Champions League and FA Cup while also keeping them in contention to finish in the top five of the Premier League, a position likely to be good enough to see them compete for the European Cup again next year.

Current ETV

Marcus Rashford

M, AM (L), F (C)

Aston Villa

Marcus Rashford

M, AM (L), F (C)

Aston Villa

ETV Range

€52.2M - €63.8M

A precarious financial position means that if they are to land Rashford on a permanent basis, though, they will have to make significant sales.

The first of these is set to arrive in the form of Kosta Nedeljkovic, who is set to make his loan spell at RB Leipzig permanent, according to Sky Sport Deutschland.

A deal for the Serbia right-back will see Villa secure a not-insignificant windfall of €15 million, with €10.5m of this coming as an upfront payment.

The Bundesliga side see Nedeljkovic as strong value for money, with the 19-year-old a player for the future. His Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) is €12.3m.

Rashford price rising

Any deal for Rashford would be smoothed over by that transfer taking place, with the Man Utd star’s asking price rising as he regains form.

The 27-year-old has only appeared nine times for Aston Villa, including just four starts, but he has produced four assists and rapidly won a recall to the international setup in Thomas Tuchel’s first England squad.

This is something of a headache for Aston Villa, as former Man Utd chief scout Mick Brown revealed to Football Insider it has only served to bump up the Red Devils’ asking price.

“Their asking price has increased after he was recalled into the England squad.

“Villa have benefited from his impressive performances, he’s been allowed to show what he can do, and now Man United can benefit from his sale.

“They’ve got the best out of a bad situation at United.

“It looked like they’d have to sell him on the cheap, but his value has only gone up.

“With the interest from Villa and from abroad, and a place in the England squad showing how highly rated he is, it will allow them to drive up his asking price.”

Rashford is thought to have a buy option in his Aston Villa loan deal worth €47.5m, putting Emery’s side in pole position when it comes to a potential summer transfer.