Aston Villa and Manchester United are ‘near to agreeing’ on a deal to capture wantaway forward Marcus Rashford.
The January transfer window closes on Monday night, therefore Rashford has only until New Year’s Eve to clinch a move after announcing his decision to quit Manchester United.
Barcelona has long been touted as his desired destination, however AC Milan, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, and Napoli have also been mentioned. However, his large pay and poor form have posed challenges.
He appeared to be set to stay at Manchester United beyond this transfer window until Aston Villa moved to the front of the queue for his services.
After Jhon Duran moved to Al Nassr, Unai Emery’s team entered the battle to sign Rashford on Friday. The head coach “personally requested” this signing.
The two Premier League clubs are reportedly “close to an agreement,” and a “buy option” is anticipated to be part of the deal, according to David Ornstein of The Athletic.
He explained:
“Aston Villa are close to agreeing a deal to sign Marcus Rashford on loan from Manchester United.‘ The proposed move has not yet been finalised as some details still need to be ironed out between all parties.‘
Significant progress has been made though, with Villa moving to sort the financial terms, looking to satisfy United on salary coverage, and convince the player.
The chance to play in the Champions League is an appeal for Rashford, with Unai Emery fully behind the approach. It is believed an option to buy will be agreed with Villa.‘ Villa are set to cover a significant portion of the forward’s wage alongside offering performance-related bonuses.
‘Villa manager Emery personally requested the club enter talks over Rashford as he is a big fan of the England international, whom he thinks is one of the world’s most dangerous attacking players, and believes he can help him recapture his best form.’
Shortly after this bombshell announcement, Fabrizio Romano confirmed a ‘deal is close’. He said: “Marcus Rashford and Aston Villa, the deal is close, as negotiations are now progressing to the final stages.“ “Loan move until June, salary covered and discussions ongoing about buy clause.” “Rashford has also spoken to Unai Emery, he’s aware of Aston Villa desire to get him.”