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Manchester United are “in talks” with Aston Villa over a potential early return to Old Trafford for Marcus Rashford after the on-loan forward suffered a hamstring injury last week.
Rashford, 27, swapped Manchester for Birmingham at the end of the January transfer window after a public dispute with Ruben Amorim, agreeing to join the Villains on loan until the end of the season with a £40 million buy-option included in the deal.
Villa manager Unai Emery was a pivotal figure in convincing Rashford to make the switch with the Spaniard believing the 27-year-old retains the potential to be one of the best forwards in Europe.
And Emery has consistently demonstrated his faith in Rashford since he arrived at Villa Park, opting to start him up front over fellow English forward Ollie Watkins for both legs of the quarter-final clash with Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League – Villa’s biggest game in recent memory.
Rashford was fantastic in the second game against PSG, coming agonisingly close on multiple occasions to helping his newly adopted side draw level after losing the first leg 3-1 in France. He was withdrawn in the 76th minute, much to the disbelief of the Villa Park faithful and the relief of the Ligue 1 champions’ defence.
The England international maintained his starting berth for the crucial Premier League match against Manchester City a week later, posing a similar level of threat to Pep Guardiola’s side, though ultimately Villa fell to a last-minute defeat.
A desperately disappointing April was then capped off by Rashford sustaining a hamstring injury in training last week, effectively ruling the 27-year-old forward out for the remainder of the season.
A few days later, Villa exited the FA Cup in limp fashion, following their 3-0 loss in the semi-final to Crystal Palace with Rashford forced to watch from the side lines.
There has been no confirmation of Villa’s plan to exercise their £40 million buy-option to make Rashford’s move to Birmingham a permanent one. But Emery’s public assessment and tactical deployment of the forward suggests the club’s manager keen on doing so, even if the executive branch may be reticent.
However, United are now “in talks” with their Villa Park counterparts over an early return for Rashford from his loan move. The 27-year-old is expected to be ruled out for a few weeks with the hamstring issue and Villa’s final game of the season comes against the Red Devils, meaning Rashford would be ineligible to feature anyways.
The Sun reports, “It looks unlikely he will be fit in time for that, meaning his difficult campaign is effectively over. And a decision will need to be taken between the forward — who joined Villa on loan in the winter window — and United over what happens next.”
Rashford reportedly plans to sit down and discuss his future with United executives “before mid-June” with acceptance on the player’s side a return under Amorim his highly unlikely. The forward may now get the chance to begin these negotiations at an earlier date, though the head coach at Old Trafford is unlikely to be pleased to see the 27-year-old return earlier than anticipated.
Featured image Michael Steele via Getty Images
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