Marcus Rashford transfer news: Aston Villa close to loan deal for Manchester United forward

Aston Villa are finalising a deal with Manchester United for Marcus Rashford.

The move is a loan until the end of the season with an option to buy.

VidSport Live News understands Villa will cover at least 75 per cent of Rashford's wages and this could go up to 90 per cent depending on Rashford's and Villa's performance.

United had similar structures for Jadon Sancho's loan to Borussia Dortmund last season and Antony's loan to Real Betis in this window.

It's understood Villa have made the move as a result of the sale of Jhon Duran to Al Nassr.

Unai Emery's side are also interested in Paris Saint-Germain's Marcos Asensio and Chelsea's Joao Felix, as confirmed by Villa's president of football operations Monchi.

Speaking after Villa's 2-0 defeat at Wolves on Saturday, Emery said his side continue to work on "different players" in the transfer window.

"To sign one striker is not easy. We have some players. Usually Watkins is being consistent, playing matches, recovering strong and playing matches in a row, two or three matches. But he got injured (against Wolves). Hopefully, it is small.

"The idea is if we can replace Jhon Duran with a striker, a potential player who can help us with the level we want, we will do. If not, we can use versatile players like Donyell Malen."

When specifically asked on Rashford links, Emery added: "We will know on Monday how we have finished."

Seven speculation-filled weeks have passed since Rashford last played for his boyhood club in the Europa League trip to Viktoria Plzen - and he remains in the cold ahead of Monday's 11pm deadline.

The England international revealed in December he was "ready for a new challenge", but few clubs offer an obvious landing spot thanks in no small part to his wages.

Rashford was left out of United's 21-man squad for Thursday's Europa League win at FCSB despite the forward training with his team-mates on the eve of the match.

Man Utd boss Ruben Amorim suggested last weekend after the 1-0 win at Fulham he would currently rather have United's 63-year-old goalkeeping coach in his squad than Rashford.

There have been reports this week that Amorim and Rashford were no longer on speaking terms.

Amorim has left the door open for Rashford to fight his way back into first-team contention, saying United are "a better team with Rashford" but he " has to change" before he can force his way back into the first-team reckoning.

Latest from VidSport Live News' Dharmesh Sheth:

There was lots of interest in Marcus Rashford in this transfer window, but only two viable proposals - from Aston Villa and a second unnamed Premier League club.

The other approaches required United to cover a substantial portion of Rashford's wages - something they were not prepared to do, as the will to leave has come from the player.

While Rashford's preference earlier this window was to go to Barcelona, a move to Villa will satisfy his desire to play Champions League football.

VidSport Live' Gary Neville:

"He had to get out of the club. He's been battered in the last few weeks by his manager. That's the only person who matters in football, your coach, and I think some of the statements from Ruben Amorim towards Marcus Rashford have been brutal, emphatically saying that he doesn't want him. I don't see how there's any way back after the comments that he's made.

"There are a number of things that are in his favour at Villa. He's going to a far better team at this moment, he's going to a coach who's world class, which is a real opportunity for him.

"It puts pressure on Marcus to perform for Unai Emery because if you don't play for him, then you're sort of saying Ruben Amorim might be the problem, Erik ten Hag might be the problem. Unai Emery can't be a problem for Rashford. He has to play well for him.

"The other thing is the style of play. How Villa play could suit Rashford as well. Maybe the spotlight won't be quite on him as it was at Manchester United but certainly there'll still be a lot of attention. Villa are in lots of competitions, they've still got a lot to play for and it's a real opportunity for Marcus.

"It absolutely sounds like what he needs. The last thing that I would think Rashford needs at this moment is someone just like I say, 'go and enjoy yourself'. He needs to have some discipline in his game, he needs to be coached and he needs to make sure that the team know exactly what it is that they want from him.

"Unai Emery will do that, he's an absolutely amazing coach. It's exactly what Marcus Rashford needs and what he's got to do is buy into it."

Manchester United could move for Bayern Munich's Mathys Tel, once they have finalised a deal for Rashford to leave Old Trafford.

United have made their interest in a loan move for Tel known to Bayern. He is one of a number of targets the club are looking at.

United have always been in a position during this window of having to facilitate a departure before bringing anyone in.

It is thought Tel is open to the move after rejecting the chance to go to Tottenham Hotspur.

United are aware that there are other clubs in the Premier League and Europe interested in Tel.

VidSport Live' Patrick Rowe:

"Rashford has played his best football on the left so this move arrives at an interesting time for Villa and Rashford, given Jacob Ramsey looks to be recapturing his finest form.

"The 23-year-old scored against West Ham and provided two assists against Celtic. If he maintained this run, there are no guarantees that Rashford would have the starting role he desires at Villa.

"Versatility is held in high regard by Emery so playing with Watkins up front or out on the right, given Leon Bailey's struggles, are also possibilities.

"The other problem is which Rashford would Villa be getting. Emery has a track record of getting the best out of players so if he could get him close to the player we saw in 2022/23, who scored 17 goals in the Premier League, it would be a gamble worth taking for Villa.

"But as the saga with Jhon Duran also demonstrated, Emery has little-to-no patience for off-the-field antics."

The January transfer window is OPEN!

Follow all the latest deals, news and rumours on the 'Transfers' section of the VidSport Live app!

Looking for news about YOUR club? Find dedicated transfer pages for EVERY Premier League team.