Marcus Rashford ‘on brink of Aston Villa loan after agreeing to cover £325k a week wages… and deal could be PERMANENT’

MARCUS RASHFORD is on the brink of completing his loan move to Aston Villa, according to reports.

The out-of-favour Manchester United forward, 27, is not wanted by Ruben Amorim and has been frozen out since December 12.

Reports on Friday emerged that Villa were keen to take the England international on a temporary deal until the end of the season.

And now The Athletic and Fabrizio Romano claim a deal is nearing completion for Rashford to join Unai Emery’s side with the final details being thrashed out.

It is stated Villa are covering the majority of Rashford’s whopping £325,000-a-week United wages he gets paid following his five-year contract extension signed in 2023.

They are also offering performance-related bonuses.

That is largely possible due to the fact the Midlands side sold Jhon Duran to Al-Nassr for £64million.

The reports also add that there will be an option for Villa to buy Rashford included in the deal – while United may swoop for Mathys Tel if and when the No10’s exit is sealed.

Rashford is keen to get his career back on track after a difficult few years under both Erik ten Hag and now Amorim.

And the possibility of playing in the Champions League again will undoubtedly appeal.

Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, Monaco and AC Milan were all linked with the United academy graduate – although the wages proved an issue.

But now it appears Rashford will stay put in the Premier League.

Ironically, Rashford made a blistering start to the Amorim regime with three goals in the Portuguese manager’s first two league matches – against Ipswich and Everton.

However, their relationship soured when Amorim was told Rashford had been out on a Friday night – less than 48 hours before the Everton game.

He called the forward in for a meeting where he denied the allegations – and they still do not see eye to eye.

Rashford then angered Amorim further by publicly revealing he is “ready for a new challenge” away from Old Trafford.

To make matters worse, Amorim said he would rather put his 63- year-old goalkeeper coach Jorge Vita on the pitch instead of “a player who doesn’t give the maximum every day”.

The player feels he is receiving unfair treatment – and there are thoughts it may be orders from the top.

A source told The Sun: “Marcus thinks Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants him out of the club and has basically told head coach Ruben Amorim to get him out.

“He might just have met his match with Sir Jim.

“Marcus feels like he is being picked on.

“In the early days of training under Amorim, he was trying to learn new systems and other players were also struggling — but he was the one who was getting more vocal criticism.

“He knows he needs to leave but he’s shocked that no big team has pulled out all the stops to get him.

“There’s been interest but financially it’s a complicated deal and that’s put quite a few teams off.

“Marcus has been left bewildered by how quickly his relationship with Amorim has disintegrated.”

Ex-United stars Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand and Paul Scholes all weighed in on the debate.

Ferdinand suggested Rashford could look to sue Amorim for his comments while Rooney and Scholes both laid into the forward.

Rooney said: “I went into Carrington on Sunday to take my kids to game day and Marcus Rashford was out on the training pitch with the fitness coach.

“But he was right over towards where the parents were walking past for the kids’ games.

“I looked at him thinking how embarrassing it must be for him as parents walked past. He’s there and all the parents are walking past him.

Marcus has let a lot of people down with his attitude… the sooner he’s gone, the better

Paul Scholes

“I was surprised when this started over two years ago, but now I’m not.

“I’ve spoken to Marcus a couple of times and I’ve given him my thoughts and feelings that he needs to leave the football club.

“Because whatever is going on in his life and at Manchester United, he’s not the same.

“For him to have a fresh start, he needs to leave the club.”

Scholes added: “I think Marcus has let a lot of people down with his attitude and I think that’s what the manager is trying to say.

“You think of the young players coming through the team and think of [Alejandro] Garnacho.

“They’re looking up to people like Marcus now and he’s 27, he’s clearly not training properly, he’s not living his life properly. They’re the examples these people should look at.

“In a way, he’s saying he doesn’t want to be involved with the team and the fact of letting his teammates down, he should be banished from the dressing room.

“If he’s in and around that and young people are seeing that as an example, the sooner he’s gone the better.”