It’s safe to say that Manchester United loanee Marcus Rashford is reviving his career every single time he steps out onto the pitch for Aston Villa right now.
Rashford was brilliant against Preston North End in the FA Cup – he took his chance as Villa’s number nine scoring two goals.
And against Brighton & Hove Albion on Wednesday evening, Unai Emery kept faith with Rashford up top, choosing to leave Ollie Watkins watching on from the bench.
Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker shared their Rashford thoughts after watching the forward against Preston – and the striker only backed up their claims with another goal against Brighton.
Rashford opened the scoring with a delightful finish past Bart Verbruggen, demonstrating a level of confidence that’s seldom been seen whilst he’s been at Old Trafford of late.
Unai Emery thinks Marcus Rashford can play with Ollie Watkins
That being said, when speaking to Sky Sports after the game Emery actually claimed that Rashford was performing so well that he might consider playing him alongside Watkins soon.
Before Jhon Duran left for Saudi Arabia in January, Emery had a similar predicament – possessing two red hot strikers.
READ MORE: How much Aston Villa will actually have to pay to buy Marco Asensio from PSG
But it seems like it’s a very welcome one from the Villa manager’s perspective who was loving the confidence in Rashford’s game right now.
Emery said: “Keep going is the message for him. Playing more minutes means he’s getting physically better, he’s scoring more goals. We’re playing him as a striker and trying to compete with Watkins. Maybe going forward we can play them together.
“Try to exploit his [Rashford’s] qualities. He’s in the best confidence moment. On Sunday we planned to play him as a striker and he scored two goals so I decided to go again and he scored.”
Of course, Emery thought Rashford was world-class when he was first able to bring him to the club, a player he’s immediately getting the best out of.
Ezri Konsa has noticed how Marcus Rashford has changed
In addition to Emery, Villa centre-back Ezri Konsa also delivered some praise for Rashford himself whilst also speaking to Sky Sports.
Konsa went away with Rashford over the international break with England, a teammate he must be very pleased to have at Villa Park right now.
Briefly discussing Rashford’s upturn in form, Konsa said: “He’s got a smile on his face again. He looks like he’s enjoying football again. I’m so pleased for him.”
Villa are considering a permanent move for Rashford in the summer once his loan expires, but the United forward’s wages might ultimately scupper any deal.
Marco Asensio is also on loan at Villa right now, another talent who has seen a dramatic turnaround in performances since arriving at the club.
And it’s clear that Monchi and Emery will have some important decisions to make in a few months’ time.
