Rashford comments to anger Aston Villa fans after Barcelona transfer finalised
Marcus Rashford has sealed a season-long loan move to Barcelona, ending Aston Villa’s slim hopes of persuading him to return to Villa Park.
Rashford enjoyed a promising loan spell in a Villa shirt last season, and there was talk of him being offered a permanent deal, although his desire to join Barcelona became apparent early in the summer.
However, his most recent comments about his time at Aston Villa may still irk some fans.
Rashford comments on Aston Villa loan spell during Barcelona unveiling
During his first interview as a Barcelona loanee, Rashford was keen to share his gratitude to those at Aston Villa who helped to make the loan deal happen.
The winger had been frozen out at Manchester United and Villa gave him a platform to remind the world what he can do.
However, he couldn’t help but mention that he would have preferred to have moved to Spain last season instead of this summer.
Commenting his decision to pick Barcelona over other suitors, he said: “[It was] not difficult. I was clear on my preference from the beginning. Actually from maybe in January. It didn’t work out in January so I went to Aston Villa and enjoyed a good period there. I’m very grateful for the opportunity to play there.”
Many pundits have commented on Rashford’s move to Aston Villa, with several accusing him of “failing up”. It’s an impressive leap to move from 15th-place Manchester United to the La Liga champions.
United manager Ruben Amorim has seemingly washed his hands of Rashford, meaning there could be another race to sign the winger permanently once his loan at Barcelona ends next summer.
Villa should look to the future rather than dwelling on Rashford comments
Many people in the world of football take it personally when a player speaks about not wanting to play for their club, so Rashford’s comments might irk Villa staff.
Even so, it would be better to put that energy toward finding a replacement winger to thrive in the Premier League next season.
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It’s less than a month until the new season starts and Villa still look short of attacking options.
They were reliant on Rashford and Marco Asensio at the back end of last season, and have seemingly failed in their attempts to tempt either of them back to the club.
Nicolas Jackson has been connected with a transfer to Villa Park, although many fans are wary of this move as the striker has struggled at Chelsea.
Villa are still heavily linked with Jack Grealish as well, although there seems to be no progress with this potential homecoming.
All the fans can do at this point is wait and trust that Unai Emery has something up his sleeve.
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