Aston Villa closing in on Rashford loan deal

Before the transfer deadline on Monday, Aston Villa are close to agreeing a loan deal for Marcus Rashford from Manchester United.

Although negotiations with BBC Sport are still in progress, sources have informed that final decisions must be made.

Unai Emery, the manager of Villa, is said to find the job attractive.

Since being dropped by head coach Ruben Amorim for the Manchester derby on December 12th, Rashford has not played for United.

Amorim claimed on Wednesday that Rashford would make his team better if he were there, but the player had not upheld the standards he demanded of his team.

“Imagine a talent like Rashford, our team should be so much better with him – but he has to change”, said the United manager.

“If he changes, we are more than welcome]to include him] – and we need it. But in this moment we have to set some standards. We are waiting for Rashford, if he wants it really bad”.

Rashford has been with United since the age of seven, made more than 400 appearances, won the Europa League, two FA Cups and two EFL Cups.

He scored in Amorim’s first game in charge, a 1-1 away draw at Ipswich on 24 November, before netting twice in a 4-0 win over Everton a week later.