Manchester United’s on-loan star Marcus Rashford has opened up about the transformation in his performance levels at Aston Villa.
Rashford’s brace in Villa’s 3-0 victory over Preston ensured the Premier League team’s spot in the FA Cup semifinals. After a period of limited opportunities under Ruben Amorim at United, Rashford secured a move to Villa Park on loan for the remainder of the season in January.
Since then, he’s flourished under Unai Emery’s guidance, notching four assists and earning himself inclusion in Thomas Tuchel’s first England squad. Fresh from his starts in England triumphs against Albania and Latvia, Rashford approached Villa’s quarterfinal match at Deepdale with a new surge of self-assurance.
Following a subdued opening 45 minutes, he pounced for the opener with a close-range conversion of Lucas Digne’s precision cross, before coolly dispatching a penalty after Morgan Rogers was brought down to double Villa’s advantage.
While Jacob Ramsey contributed the third goal, it was Rashford who earned the accolades as man of the match. “It’s a great feeling, I feel like I’ve been getting fitter and playing better football since I’ve been here. It’s obviously nice for a forward to get a goal so hopefully it continues,” he told the BBC.
“I think we have to just take it one game at a time and give it 100 percent on the pitch and see where it takes us. We’re a very ambitious team – we want to win and try and get as far as we can in all competitions and we also want to push to get back into the top four.”
(Image: Getty Images)
When asked about his current form, Rashford shared: “Step by step. I think I can still get fitter. I missed a lot of football before joining up with them. At the minute my body feels good, I’m injury-free and I’m enjoying my football, so all good for now.”
Should Villa wish to secure Rashford’s services permanently in the summer, they’ll need to fork out £40 million ($50 million to United, and with each impressive performance, that outcome seems more probable. It’s a move that seems to benefit both parties, and Emery is certainly happy with Rashford’s progress.
“He’s getting confident, scoring goals,” he said. “He’s committed to work and to adapting quickly. Then, he needs to feel comfortable playing at his best level. When he came here, he had not been training consistently for the past two months. He’s been playing more and the two games with England helped him feel better.
“He has been playing as a left winger. We decided here to play him as a striker to get his best qualities, his power and confidence. He took one step forward. But there’s still work to do.”
