Aston Villa ace to ‘lose head with rage’ after behind-the-scenes Rashford decision
Aston Villa’s team is filled to the brim with talent with Marcus Rashford among the very best players at the club.
The Englishman has had a hard time of it over the last few seasons with his parent club Manchester United but a move to Villa seems to have helped solve that, for now at least.
The attacker seems to have really come into his own at Villa Park and has been one of the surprise packages of the season, despite only being with the club for a short amount of time.
However, even though the addition of Rashford by himself would have been an impressive window for Unai Emery’s men, others such as Marcos Asensio and Donyell Malen were also brought in.
Malen to be frustrated with omission from Champions League squad
Each of the aforementioned duo are equally as skilled as Rashford but Malen may end up losing his head with rage after what was decided about Rashford’s playing time.
And, of all the winter arrivals at B6, the Dutchman was the first and only permanent one to come in.
Which, theoretically, would mean that he’d get preferential treatment as the Villans have a much longer-term goal in their minds with the former Borussia Dortmund man.
But instead, things haven’t panned out that way as Emery chose to include Asensio and Rashford in his Champions League squad over Malen.
Alan Hutton, while live on TNT Sports (4 March), shared how he’d feel if he was in the Dutchman’s boots.
“I’m not going to lie, if I signed for the club in January and I was left out of the Champions League squad, my head would have went, it would have fallen off,” he said.
“But I think with Asensio and Marcus Rashford coming in, not that you would understand but you get what they can bring to the team.
“Yes they pay them the big wages for these moments to make the difference, these are the huge games that you want to get as far as you can in the competition.
“You’ll need these guys and I think that’s why they’re in and Malen maybe not.”
“My head would’ve gone if i was signed, then left out the squad” 😤
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 4, 2025
Does Donyell Malen deserve to be in the Aston Villa Champions League squad? 🤔 @rioferdy5 @ReshminTV
📺 Watch the Champions League LIVE on @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/BL7UzJV83C
Aston Villa should have treated Malen better
Even though Malen doesn’t have the same stature in the game as the other two do, Emery still should have treated him much better.
Malen is a versatile attacker who can play anywhere across the front three and when he’s been brought on by Villa in their games outside of the Champions League, he’s often made a difference.
| Position | Team | Points |
| 6th | Newcastle | 44 |
| 7th | Bournemouth | 43 |
| 8th | Brighton | 43 |
| 9th | Fulham | 42 |
| 10th | Aston Villa | 42 |
Villa sank around £19million into the attacker after the sale of Jhon Duran but he’s being treated as if he’s second or even third best.
While Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins are unlikely to have their places taken in the starting XI, you’d have still expected Emery to include him in his Champions League plans.
Of course, only time will tell what the future holds for the Dutchman but if Emery continues to treat him like this, it’s hard to see why he’d want to stay around for much longer, despite only just joining.