Unai Emery had positive words to say about Man United loanee Marcus Rashford ahead of Aston Villa’s Champions League quarter-final with PSG on Wednesday.
United fans will have fond memories of Rashford terrorising PSG, scoring a 90th-minute winner in Paris during the 2019/20 season group stage, as well as a 94th-minute penalty in a knockout tie the season before.
The Villans boss singled out a ‘happy’ and ‘smiling’ Rashford, highlighting the fact the England international is flourishing outside of the dreary shadow of Old Trafford.
The United schoolboy’s tumultuous time off the pitch spilled over into his performances for the Red Devils, manifesting in an apparent lack of desire to play for the club.
Fallings out with then-manager Erik Ten Hag and current head coach Ruben Amorim were a factor in his desire to leave the club he’d called home for nearly two decades.
Having made a loan move with a £40 million option to buy back in February, Rashford looks ready to flourish at his new club, something Emery touched on in his pre-PSG press conference.
“He is a good guy, he is humble, he is a very good professional player, he is really happy with his teammates, he has been demanding himself in everything. We want to work with him, with the team.”
MORE MARCUS RASHFORD NEWS ON F365…
👉 Rashford escape explodes into life with league champions renewing contact for stunning transfer
👉 Man Utd told Marcus Rashford’s resurgence is ‘bad news’ as pundit claims he’s ‘done with them’
👉 Man Utd: Former Red Devils assistant backs summer ‘return’ for one star with ‘obvious reason’ given
Emery‘s comments are in stark contrast to the figure United fans became accustomed to seeing at Old Trafford in recent seasons.
He continued: “I think he is playing freely, he is playing comfortably, and this is the most important. We are trying to connect with him as a person firstly and, after that, to connect with him as a player.
“His process here is getting better as well. He is playing in two different positions, he started as a left winger, now he is playing more as a striker. How he can exploit his qualities as best as possible with us. This is the process we have, still work to do, still process to do, but the most important is his feeling.
“We are seeing him smiling, it is the best news we can have. I am seeing him happy, I am seeing him committed with everything we are doing.”
Rashford has provided four goal contributions in nine appearances for Villa since the move, with his next opportunity to impress coming at Parc des Princes on Wednesday.
