‘Aston Villa could sign Marcus Rashford permanently and bank £60m profit’
Aston Villa’s former chief Keith Wyness has claimed Marcus Rashford could bank the Midlands club “£100million” in future if they sign him permanently.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, the 67-year-old – who served as CEO at Villa Park between 2016 and 2018 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs –insisted the 27-year-old will “always be wanted down in Saudi Arabia”.
Rashford has signed at Aston Villa on an initial loan deal, with the Midlands club holding a £40million option to buy him permanently in the summer.
He has scored seven goals in 24 appearances across all competitions this season but has not played any minutes since his substitute cameo against Nottingham Forest for Man United in December.
Wyness claimed Villa’s move for Rashford is a “gamble”, but could be “a very smart deal”.
Aston Villa told Rashford ‘will always be wanted’ in Saudi Arabia
He told Football Insider‘s Insider Track podcast: “With Rashford, Villa have agreed to cover 75% of his wages.
“That comes to about £5million for the rest of the season. It’s not a big dent.
“There’s an option to buy for around £40million. If he kicks on and does well for half the season, Villa could buy him and know they could re-sell him for £80-100million.
“They know he will always be wanted down in Saudi Arabia.
“He can kick on and do well, stay for next season – and maybe then they could look to sell in a year or two.
“It’s a gamble, they’ve got to get him match fit – but he could be very valuable for them in Europe if he gets it together.
“It could be a very smart deal.”
In other news, Villa “plan to accept Leon Bailey offer” in new transfer twist.
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