Marcus Rashford tipped for shock transfer to Aston Villa following Ruben Amorim admission

Unai Emery has listed Marcus Rashford as a shock transfer target for Aston Villa before the winter transfer deadline, according to a shocking new report.

Birmingham World has maintained throughout the week that Joao Felix is the preferred target following the news of Jhon Duran’s exit - with Marco Asensio another option - but Rashford could now be in the conversation too.

The Athletic has revealed today (January 31) that Villa are interested in signing Rashford on loan. It’s stated the Villans have made the 27-year-old one of multiple options to strengthen their forward line, though it could be difficult to convince him to join as his preference has been to either join Barcelona or stay at Old Trafford.

Man Utd manager Ruben Amorim has refused to select Rashford for matches over the past couple of months despite the 60-time England international being fit and available. The United boss has explained on several occasions that the desired attitude and effort levels are severely lacking.

Amorim unimpressed by Rashford

Last week, Amorim rather brutally admitted he’d rather play his goalkeeping coach, Jorge Vital, if it meant he’d get 100 per cent commitment. "It’s the same situation for every player. If you do the maximum, if you do the right things, we can use every player,” Amorim said.

"And you can see it today on the bench – we miss a little bit of pace to go to change the game, to move some pieces, but I prefer [it] like that. I will put Vital before I put a player that doesn't give the maximum every day, so I will not change in that."

The last time Rashford featured for Man Utd was on December 12, as he played 56 minutes in the 2-1 away win at Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League. It appeared Rashford had turned a positive corner just a few weeks before as he scored three goals in two Premier League matches - against Ipswich Town and Everton - but he’s since fallen well out of favour.

Alejandro Garnacho has experienced similar treatment from Amorim and the Argentine was left out of United’s squad for the 2-1 derby victory away at Manchester City in December. Unlike Rashford, though, Garnacho has been reinstated into the matchday squad since.

How would Rashford fit in at Villa?

Emery will soon have the necessary cash to splash on a permanent addition to Villa’s attacking ranks with Duran’s £64.5 million plus add-ons transfer to Al-Nassr all but confirmed, but signing Rashford on loan could buy the club time to ensure they proceed correctly.

It’s not like Rashford is a bad player, after all, and far from it. Emery has proven in the past just how well he can turn around fortunes for out-of-sorts players and he could do the same in this case.

Predominantly a left winger but also capable of playing off the right or as an out-and-out centre-forward, Rashford has racked up an extraordinary 426 appearances, 138 goals and 63 assists for United. The Red Devils academy product has never left his boyhood club, so his next move is a vitally important one.

In other news, Ollie Watkins has had a meeting with Emery to discuss his future following a bid from Arsenal.