Topics: Marcus Rashford, Manchester United, Aston Villa
Marcus Rashford has broken his silence after making his Aston Villa debut against Spurs on Sunday.
Rashford was made surplus to requirements at Manchester United under Ruben Amorim and attracted interest from a whole host of sides, including Barcelona, AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund.
But as the January window drew to a close Villa were able to convince Rashford to join on a loan until the end of the season to provide a new challenge that he was keen for.
Villa are covering a good chunk of Rashford's wages and the Midlands side have the option to make the move permanent for a fee of £40 million when the loan expires.
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He started on the bench in the FA Cup clash with Spurs at Villa Park and came on for his debut alongside fellow loanee Marco Asensio, who has signed from Paris Saint-Germain.
Villa were 2-0 up courtesy of goals from Jacob Ramsey and Morgan Rogers but Rashford, wearing the No.9 shirt, had a huge point to prove and looked incredibly sharp in his 30-minute cameo.
The 27-year-old pressed and worked tirelessly, won duels against defenders and linked up wonderfully with his new teammates.
Villa conceded a late consolation when Spurs forward Mathys Tel bagged on his full debut but after returning to the pitch for a first outing since mid December, a delighted Rashford took to Instagram to post a message.
Sharing a series of pictures of him and fans with signs aimed at the England international, Rashford wrote: "Thank you for the warm welcome. Great team performance."
While Villa may have lost Jhon Duran in a £64.5 million switch to Al Nassr, they still a wealth of attacking options at their disposal after bringing in three forwards in the January window.
Ollie Watkins missed the win over Spurs with injury and yet Villa were still fluid as ever in the final third.
Discussing the new recruits, Emery told the BBC: "We have to protect every player and try to adapt them into our structure and use their skills. Asensio, Rashford and Malen are versatile players in the attacking third. We can feel confident to have them.
"We are very demanding in our way because we want to be in the top six or top five in the Premier League as well as in the Champions League, where we are in the last 16."
Rashford will be looking to make his full debut for the club on Saturday when Villa host Ipswich Town in the Premier League.
