Man Utd considering shock Aston Villa player to replace Marcus Rashford and it's the last name anyone expected

Marcus Rashford looks set to complete his loan move to Aston Villa but the player who could 'replace' him at Manchester United has left fans surprised.

Rashford, 27, has fallen out of favour with United boss Ruben Amorim and has not started a game since the Red Devils’ 2-1 away win at Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League on December 12.

He has since been left out of 11 of 12 matchday squads.

Now, he looks all but set to complete a loan move to Aston Villa with journalist Fabrizio Romano issuing an update on Sunday morning.

“Marcus Rashford to Aston Villa, here we go!” Romano wrote on X.

“Agreement in place on loan deal with over 70% salary covered by Villa. Buy option clause worth £40m also included in contract with potential three year and half deal to follow. Medical booked today.”

So with Rashford seemingly making the switch to Birmingham, this leaves a spot in the left forward/winger position at United.

Who could 'replace' Marcus Rashford?

Well, two players are being considered as possible “options” to join United ahead of the transfer deadline on Monday at 11 pm.

According to reports from The Athletic, Bayern Munich’s Mathys Tel – also linked with Tottenham – and Villa’s Leon Bailey are being “considered” by the 20-time Premier League winners.

Although it may seem that the pair could be direct replacements for Rashford, it is claimed that “a move for Bailey would be separate from Marcus Rashford’s proposed loan”.

Rashford is most comfortable playing on the left of a front three while Bailey, 27, favours the right flank.

Leon Bailey has been linked with a loan move to Manchester United (Credit:Getty)

The report suggests that United are “yet to advance talks” with both Villa and Bayern but both players have “been discussed” as possible arrivals should they be made available for a loan move.

Bailey, who has been capped by Jamaica 32 times, has struggled to find form this season having registered just one goal and three assists in 29 appearances for Unai Emery's side.

His current deal is set to run until the summer of 2028 but he has fallen down the pecking order since the emergence of Morgan Rogers.