I saw what Marcus Rashford did in warm-up for Aston Villa debut - it said everything

It may not have been the starting XI spot so many fans hyped up to be in store but Rashford certainly made his presence known during Villa’s recent 2-1 FA Cup fourth round win against Tottenham.

Signed on loan from Manchester United on deadline day, the 60-time England international is probably the most marquee addition at the club since Philippe Coutinho signed from Barcelona. As such, as soon as you took your seat ahead of kick-off on Sunday, you could sense the excitement brewing around all four corners of Villa Park. This wasn’t just any usual cup tie precession; Villa fans had a duty to make Rashford feel as welcome as humanly possible.

That’s exactly what the claret and blue faithful did as Rashford received the loudest cheer of all when he finished his initial warm up and headed down the tunnel. Then, when the game got underway, Rashford walked out of the tunnel early to take an early seat on the bench and received a second standing ovation from the Villa fans near the touchline.

The same reception was felt yet again when the striker left the dugout to keep warm on the near side, joined by teammates Marco Asensio, Ian Maatsen and Jamaldeen Jimoh. Rashford turned around two or three times to return the favour, clapping the supporters sat in his vicinity all while wearing a beaming smile.

Instant impact duly delivered

Then came the call from Unai Emery midway through the second half: “Marcus, you’re on,” or something to that effect. Just as the 27-year-old was stripping off his training gear before entering the field, Villa went 2-0 up courtesy of Morgan Rogers’ close-range tap-in. Everyone in the home dugout jumped up and Rashford joined in, celebrating the goal with his arms aloft as if it was his own.

Villa Park erupted when the second goal went in and the roar when Rashford took his first steps onto the field in his new colours would have struck similar decibel levels. On for Donyell Malen, the versatile forward took on a very advanced role by leading the line alongside Morgan Rogers.

The first involvement - hugely popular with the home crowd - was leaping high to win a header, catching Kevin Danso’s head with his elbow on the way back down. It wasn’t long until fans were lifted off their seats once again as Rashford skilfully got past Tottenham’s Pedro Porro, nutmegging the right-back and nearly winning a penalty. Several more positive touches followed and he was denied a first goal right at the end when Archie Gray crunched in with a last-ditch tackle.

Body language contrasts Amorim claim

Rashford may have impressed with his performance but the most pleasing aspect of his debut was the body language on show. Ruben Amorim often publicly criticised Rashford for a late of effort and desire but those faults were nowhere to be seen on Sunday as you could see from the elation on his face he was happy to play football again.

Not only that, but Rashford pressed Tottenham’s defence relentlessly in the hope of creating opportunities out of nowhere and made a strong effort to get back and do his defensive duties. Those qualities are valued highly by Emery, who spoke very highly of Rashford’s work rate in training earlier in the week. In fact, the forward came into Bodymoor Heath on two of his days off and he recorded the fourth-best body fat percentage at the entire club.

Villa fans were rather spoilt at the weekend as they also managed to catch a first glimpse of Asensio, another marquee signing from deadline day. Just like Rashford, the Spaniard dazzled pretty much every time he gained possession. Asensio teased Spurs just moments after entering the pitch as he turned past Yves Bissouma with flair. He was then denied a beautiful assist as he plucked a high ball out of the air impeccably and back-heeled to Rogers but Villa’s number 27 could only find the side netting.

In other news, Villa have enquired to sign two hot prospects from Olympiacos.