Marcus Rashford statements speak volumes as Man Utd line up Jadon Sancho deal

Jadon Sancho will love what Marcus Rashford previously said about his own loan spell at Aston Villa, as the Manchester United winger gets set to head there himself. Sancho is now poised to join Villa on a season-long loan, after the out-of-favour star was placed in Ruben Amorim's 'bomb squad' during pre-season, alongside Tyrell Malacia, Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho.

For now, Malacia is the only one left at Old Trafford; with Rashford on loan to Barcelona, Garnacho sealing a £40million switch to Chelsea last week, and Sancho on his way to Villa on deadline day.

The 25-year-old will likely call upon his old United and England team-mate for advice about working under Unai Emery. Rashford spent the latter half of the 2024/25 season on loan to Villa, and made a real stamp on the team during his limited time.

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Upon joining, Rashford admitted how he had "a few clubs" approach him, but choosing Villa was "an easy decision".

He added: "I really admire the way that Aston Villa have been playing this season, and the manager's ambitions. I just want to play football and am excited to get started."

The Manchester-born star shone in the Champions League for Villa, while scoring four times across all competitions and making a big difference in Emery's front line.

However, injury eventually hampered his time in the west Midlands and he returned to United for a brief period in the summer, before heading overseas to join Barcelona. When saying his goodbyes to the Villa supporters, Rashford's words could be of some comfort to Sancho as he heads to Birmingham for the season.

Writing on social media at the time, Rashford said: "Just a message of thanks to everyone here at Villa for what has (injury aside) been an incredible few months for me. It is a really special club and I appreciated the way Villa fans embraced me with open arms from 1st minute on the pitch.

"Manager, team, and coaching staff have all been brilliant. I know it is a huge disappointment not to have made the Champions League place which everyone worked so hard all season for but I know this club and team will come back stronger."

Rashford also initially saw his fitness and goalscoring prowess improve while at Villa, as he commented on his confidence returning following the team's 3-0 victory over Preston North End that sent them to the FA Cup semi-finals.

After scoring a brace in that game, the 27-year-old said: "It's a great feeling, I feel like I've been getting fitter and playing better football since I've been here. It's obviously nice for a forward to get a goal so hopefully it continues.

"I think we have to just take it one game at a time and give it 100 percent on the pitch and see where it takes us. We're a very ambitious team – we want to win and try and get as far as we can in all competitions and we also want to push to get back into the top four."

Sancho will benefit from hearing Rashford's words ahead of his straight loan move to United's Premier League rivals, given that he struggled for form before Amorim even arrived.

In his 83 appearances for the club since he joined, the winger has scored 12 goals and assisted six times, with his most recent stint in red coming in a penalty shootout defeat to Manchester City in the Community Shield, where he played seven minutes and missed his spot-kick.

Sancho is set to join Villa on a straight loan deal, with Sky Sports reporting his new club will pay a fee plus 80% of his wages. The 25-year-old has also entered the final year of his deal with United – although the club have a 12 month extension option – but it is looking more likely that the player will not be at Old Trafford come next summer.

Meanwhile, Emi Martinez has been looking at going the other way from Villa to United. But the Red Devils have now reportedly agreed a deal for Royal Antwerp shot-stopper Senne Lammens, which may well push Martinez out of Amorim's plans for the upcoming season – but anything could happen on deadline day.

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