Aston Villa boss Unai Emery lauds Marcus Rashford's 'fantastic' training, reveals 'huge challenge'

Rashford left Man Utd towards the end of the January transfer window as he joined Aston Villa on loan with an option to buy.

This was a last resort for Man Utd as they would have preferred to keep their academy product, but his dire form over the past 18 months made a transfer necessary.

The appointment of new United head coach Ruben Amorim did not have the desired effect on Rashford's performances and the forward announced at the end of 2024 that he is "ready" for a new challenge.

Rashford was linked with several European giants including Barcelona and AC Milan, but his huge salary and poor performances limited his options.

Aston Villa eventually decided to take a risk on Rashford after selling Jhon Duran to Al Nassr and Amorim has revealed a key reason behind the 27-year-old's exit.

"I couldn't get Marcus to see the way you're supposed to play football and to train the way I see it," Amorim said.

"Sometimes you have one player that is really good with one coach, and the same player with another coach is different.

"I wish the best to Rashford and to (Villa manager) Unai Emery, and they can connect because he's a very good player."

When asked whether Rashford told him he disagreed with his ideas about football, Amorim answered: "You know, like me, that it's not the way that occurs.

"It's something that you feel as a coach and as a player. It's quite normal. It happened with a lot of coaches.

"The important thing is that I'm here saying that was my decision, like Ty (Malacia) and Antony was my decision to do these loans, and to keep some players even without any transfers."

Now, Emery has insisted that Rashford has been "fantastic" in training before they host Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup this weekend.

"I think he has huge potential to exploit," Emery said.

"I donâ™t want to know the reason he is leaving Manchester but I am very happy keeping him here and try to exploit and recover his performances. My challenge with him is a huge challenge."

He added: "Today he trained fantastic, tomorrow again, Sunday match. We are going to enjoy each step forward.

"Then, in the future, is only building in the present. If we try to get the future before the present it is impossible and we are going to crash."

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