Aston Villa could have another Jack Grealish on their hands with genius £40m summer swoop

Aston Villa were a focal point of the recent winter transfer window as Unai Emery improved his squad with several marquee signings.

Marcus Rashford, Marco Asensio and Axel Disasi joined on deadline day - all on loan - to follow Donyell Malen and Andres Garcia through the doors at Villa Park. Merely linking some of those names to Villa a couple of years ago would’ve raised many an eyebrow, so getting them all to put pen to paper on Villa contracts was quite the achievement.

The best aspect of the window, many would argue, was Villa hardly having to break the bank to improve their squad. If anything, they profited. Jhon Duran’s sensational £67.5 million move to Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr banked a tidy profit of over £50 million, while Diego Carlos departed in a £7 million transfer to Fenerbahce.

The summer may still feel far away - and it is rather - but Emery and Villa are already planning ahead to utilise some of those funds. In fact, two deals are in the works well before the next window opens. Asensio could join on a longer-term loan as Paris Saint-Germain are open to an exit, whereas there’s an option to buy Rashford permanently.

Could Marcus Rashford be Aston Villa’s new Jack Grealish?

The latter of those deals would be particularly significant for Villa as Emery seeks to fill the shoes of an iconic servant of the past. Jack Grealish certainly splits opinion these days but the attacking midfielder was one of the most impactful players in Villa’s recent history. His departure to Manchester City also cooped a stunning £100 million, saving Villa from financial ruin at the time.

It may seem like a crazy and unfounded comparison but Rashford - in his mere two appearances to date - has shown glimpses of the quality Villa have rarely seen since Grealish’s exit. Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim complained of a poor work rate but that’s not the Rashford who Villa have been privy to, with two seriously impressive substitute cameos so far.

The 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town may have been very frustrating but one of the main positives to come out of the game was Rashford’s outstanding impact off the bench. On for his first-ever Premier League appearance for Villa, Rashford stunned with 10 shot-creating actions in just 45 minutes – and he took the free-kick that rebounded off the crossbar for Ollie Watkins’ equaliser.

Now, you may be wondering, what exactly is a shot-creating action? Well, as described by Aston Villa Statto, it’s when two offensive actions directly lead to a shot – such as passes, take-ons and drawing fouls. Achieving double figures of these involvements in 90 minutes is no mean feat, let alone in just one half of football.

Since 2019, only five Villa players had achieved 10 shot-creating actions in a Premier League match before Rashford turned up. Watkins, Leon Bailey, Anwar El Ghazi and Ahmed Elmohamady all managed it just the once, while Grealish shines above and beyond by achieving the statistic 10 times.

Rashford has a long way to match that impressive record, of course, but the initial signs are very positive indeed. And with an option to buy the Man Utd man for £40 million in the summer, the ambition to fill Grealish’s shoes could finally be realised.

Emery already has Rashford masterplan lined up

Getting the best out of Rashford was always the intention of this loan, for all parties involved. Whether or not Villa decide to take up their buy option awaits to be seen and hinges heavily on just how successfully Emery can turn around the 60-time England international’s form and fortunes.

That said, a favourable outcome appears likely on what we’ve seen so far. Emery has planned from the offset to utilise Rashford just off the left and we’ve had glimpses of that approach, with the versatile forward coming on for Donyell Malen and Jacob Ramsey in his appearances to date.

Just as was indicated during Duran’s time at the club, Emery much prefers his structure with just the one out-and-out centre-forward. Watkins remains the clear first choice in that position, so Rashford was always going to have to fill in elsewhere. The number 10 role is another Rashford could occupy at times but Morgan Rogers is unlikely to have many minutes taken away from his grasp, while that is also Asensio’s best position.

Rashford suits the left wing anyway, especially with Emery’s preference for his wide players to invert and tuck in to create an overload. This is what we saw from Grealish all those years ago, too, so Villa fans could soon have some positive flashbacks of their former number 10. It’s exciting to see what the rest of the season could have in store.