Is Marcus Rashford really on the way back to his best form at Aston Villa? Or has his recall to the England team given a false impression of the forward’s form since escaping his Manchester United misery on loan in January? It is a £40 million question that Villa must answer over the next two months.
If Villa are convinced, a permanent transfer from United for a pre-agreed £40m fee will happen this summer. But if question marks remain, Rashford will be sent back to Old Trafford with three years left on his £325,000-a-week contract and little hope of resurrecting his career at his boyhood club, where coach Ruben Amorim has repeatedly made clear that the player has no place in his future plans.
Rashford, 27, is set to make his 10th appearance for Villa in their FA Cup quarterfinal away to EFL Championship team Preston North End on Sunday (stream LIVE, 8:25 a.m. ET, ESPN+) and it will be another opportunity for him to give a clear indication as to whether he really is back on an upwards trajectory, or if the positive spin on his recent performances is nothing more than deflection from a harsher reality.
Few players divide opinion as much as Rashford. If there are doubters and believers, Amorim and his Old Trafford predecessor, Erik ten Hag, are firmly in the “doubters” camp; Villa coach Unai Emery and England’s new boss Thomas Tuchel are in the latter, with both men showing faith in him in recent months.
United supporters, frustrated by Rashford’s failure to justify his huge salary, would point to his lack of consistency, goal threat or team-play prior to his move to Villa, almost two months after his last appearance under Amorim. Though his new fans at Villa Park would cite his blossoming partnership with fellow loanee Marco Asensio as proof that Emery is reigniting his dormant career.
