Marcus Rashford 'has Unai Emery to thank' as return whispers swirl - Aston Villa expert

Unai Emery and Aston Villa resurrected Marcus Rashford's career and could reunite with the winger this summer.

That is according to former Villa senior scout, Bryan King, speaking exclusively to Football Insider.

The England international's future remains up in the air this summer, after Barcelona decided against activating the £26million buy option in his loan deal.

Rashford scored 14 goals and provided 11 assists across all competitions for the Spanish champions, but will return to Manchester United this summer seeking a more permanent home.

The 28-year-old is under contract at Old Trafford until 2028, and would be available to any team for his £40m exit clause.

Having rediscovered his confidence in five months with Villa last year, Rashford publicly thanked Emery following his inclusion in Thomas Tuchel's World Cup squad.

Marcus Rashford could return to Aston Villa

Rashford arrived at Villa with his confidence at all an all-time low following a miserable first half of the season with Man United.

The forward had struggled under Ruben Amorim before he was eventually frozen out of the squad completely at Old Trafford.

Emery presented a route out for the winger and he looked to rediscover his form under the Spaniard, scoring four goals and providing six assists in just 17 appearances.

It has been suggested that Rashford could now reunited with his former boss this summer, with his exit clause representing a fairly cheap deal in today's market.

"The fact he went to Barcelona was the fact that he played well for Aston Villa, and he's got his England place back.  He's got Emery to thank for that," King told Football Insider.

He continued: "Emery resurrected Marcus Rashford's football career. He took a chance, put him in the team, didn't have a great start, but performed well.

"And in performing well, he got himself back in the national team. The thing I didn't like, he used the Aston Villa loan to secure a season in Barcelona.

"Barcelona are not prepared to take that chance. But if I was Aston Villa, I'd bring him back and say to him: 'You've used this once, you're not going to use us again. Either you want to come to our football club and be a permanent member of our football club, or you'll go back to Man United.'"

What did Rashford say about Unai Emery?

Following his inclusion in Tuchel's squad for the World Cup, Rashford took to social media to thank those involved in the process that saw him selected.

The 28-year-old wrote: "Special thanks to Unai, Hansi, Thomas, Aston Villa, Barcelona and England for believing in me when things got tough."

At Man United, the winger had looked to be settling into mediocrity for the final years of his career.

Two loans have seen him revitalised, however, and this summer could see Rashford make his final move.