Marcus Rashford performances might be securing the future of another Manchester United player

For Jadon Sancho in 2024, see Marcus Rashford in 2025. Manchester United loanees causing havoc against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League and setting social media ablaze.

On both occasions, the subtext has been obvious. These two English forwards are tearing it up in a competition United can't get into, and they are doing so while some of their salary continues to be paid out of the Old Trafford coffers. To many, this summed up the shambolic nature of modern-day Manchester United.

The subtleties were a bit more pronounced. Sancho had fallen out with Erik ten Hag and Rashford with Ruben Amorim. The chances of either playing for United during those respective seasons were non-existent. They were also both playing poorly for their parent club.

There were also differences on the pitch. Sancho's stunning performance for Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final against PSG was an outlier. He was generally underwhelming in his return to the Bundesliga, and interested clubs factored in the whole rather than one impressive 90-minute performance. That's why there was limited interest in him last summer, and he remains only on loan, albeit Chelsea have an obligation to buy or pay a penalty clause not to.

With Rashford, his performances for Villa have generally been good, so while he was excellent in the Champions League quarter-final second leg, it wasn't a bolt from the blue. He seems to have usurped Ollie Watkins as the first-choice centre-forward but has also played off the left. His 15 games have produced three goals and five assists, and a feeling the numbers don't tell the true story.

He ran PSG ragged at times in Villa's pulsating 3-2 win and when he was replaced by Watkins, the fizz