An inside look at what Marcus Rashford did during his first full week as an Aston Villa player and it's impressive

Marcus Rashford has made a positive impression in his first week at Aston Villa, with Unai Emery praising the forward for his "fantastic" performance in training.

The 27-year-old has joined the Villains from Manchester United on a six-month loan deal that includes a £40 million buy option and a potential three-and-a-half-year contract to follow.

Rashford, who last made an appearance for United in December, will have 70 per cent of his £325,000 per-week wage covered by the Champions League hopefuls.

After joining in the closing stages of the window, Rashford volunteered to take part in a session at Bodymoor Heath on Monday, spending time in the gym and then on the training ground.

In fact, the forward requested to train on his first two days off before recording the fourth-lowest body fat percentage score in the entire squad, according to the Birmingham Mail.

Ahead of their FA Cup fourth round clash against Spurs on Sunday, Unai Emery described Rashford's performance in training as “fantastic”.

“I think he has huge potential to exploit,” Emery said.

“I don’t want to know the reason he is leaving Manchester but I am very happy keeping him here and try to exploit and recover his performances. My challenge with him is a huge challenge.”

He added: “Today he trained fantastic, tomorrow again, Sunday match. We are going to enjoy each step forward. Then, in the future, is only building in the present. If we try to get the future before the present it is impossible and we are going to crash.”

An insider at Villa has also opened up on Rashford's start to life at his new club.

"It must have felt very different for Marcus when he arrived at Bodymoor Heath for the first time on Sunday," they told The Sun.

"But he was keen to get to know staff and did all of his medical testing, then he went to the canteen with the club nutritionist, before having his pics taken in all three Villa kits and doing interviews with club TV.

"He smiled a lot and made a positive first impression on everyone who met him. He was down to earth, seemed eager to please and was genuinely excited at the new challenge ahead."

They also spoke about how Rashford was impressed by Villa boss Emery, who spoke to him at length on the phone and was "incredibly detailed" about what he wanted from the forward.

"He spelled out exactly what he wanted him to do and what he would never expect him to do and painted a clear picture of how he intended to get his career on an upward trajectory again," the insider added.

🚨Unai Emery on Rashford:

“Rashford has trained excellently, he has huge potential to exploit. I don’t want to know the reason he's leaving Manchester I’m very happy to try to exploit & help him recover his performances, individually & collectively.

“My challenge with him is… pic.twitter.com/fm9GFj4rey

— 𝗔𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗺’𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝘀 ✍🏼🇵🇹 (@AmorimBalll_) February 7, 2025

"It was a compelling conversation, there was absolutely no room for confusion, he told Marcus straight exactly what his plans were for him. It's fair to say that phone-call sealed the deal."

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