‘Marcus Rashford trains alone at Aston Villa after Unai Emery call’
Aston Villa January signing Marcus Rashford has trained alone at his new club following his loan move from Man United, reports the Mail Online.
Rashford joined Aston Villa from Man United the day before the transfer window closed in February, after being dropped by Ruben Amorim.
Having played over 400 times for his boyhood club, the forward made his first professional appearance for a club that was not his boyhood team when he came off the bench for Villa in a 2-1 win over Tottenham on 9 February.
Rashford received praise from Aston Villa fans online, following a promising debut in which he showed flashes of the brilliance that made him a household name.
Despite Unai Emery giving first team players two days off on Monday and Tuesday (3 and 4 February), Rashford opted to travel to Villa’s training ground on the Monday in order to get some extra training in on his own, the Mail Online reports.
Emery reportedly believes that Rashford can still be one of the most effective attackers in the world.
The England international now finds himself at a club that harnessed the raw talent of Jack Grealish, and the Man City winger became a £100million player during his time at Villa, and the hope is that, through hard work on the training ground, Rashford can turn around his ailing career.
Aston Villa role may help Marcus Rashford become one of world’s best again
Football Insider Verdict
Rashford has been included in Aston Villa’s Champions League squad, at the expense of Donyell Malen and Andres Garcia.
With only three additional squad spots available, Rashford, Marco Asensio and Axel Disasi have been given the nod ahead of Malen and Garcia.
The move shows the important role that Emery envisions for him, and despite spending most of his time at left-wing in a United shirt, the England international is likely to play up front regularly for Villa.
Jhon Duran joined Al-Nassr from Aston Villa in January, and with Ollie Watkins as the only out-and-out striker in the squad, Emery is likely to use Rashford as his understudy at times.
The Man United loanee could be following a similar career trajectory to one of Duran’s teammates in Saudi Arabia, and one of his ex-teammates whilst at United, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo began his career as a lively and tricky winger, but slowly drifted more centrally as he refined his game and lost his breakaway speed.
Rashford has not lost any of the abilities that made him one of the best wingers in the world, but now has the experience to lead his team from the front and that will be an attractive proposition for Emery.
Marcus Rashford set to battle Jacob Ramsey for the role on the left-wing
While Watkins will remain as the starting option at striker when fit, Rashford is likely going to find himself in a battle with Jacob Ramsey for the starting role at left-wing.
Ramsey often goes under the radar while Morgan Rogers and Watkins capture the headlines, but the England U21 international has become a key player under Emery.
Following his opener against Spurs, Ramsey has now scored scored three and assisted four in all competitions for Villa this season.
His near telepathic symmetry with Rogers will make him difficult for Emery to drop, and tough competition for Rashford.