Where it all went wrong for Marcus Rashford at Manchester United

Someone who has known Marcus Rashford for several years said they saw this coming years ago. That there was an inkling of not if, but when his Manchester United career would go into freefall.

They noticed a shift in demeanour in early 2022, around the time it emerged he was first considering a move away from United amid dissatisfaction under the interim manager Ralf Rangnick.

When Rashford settled on a "new challenge" nearly eight weeks ago, many believed he had Barcelona in mind. He will instead wear a different shade of claret down the M6.

A source aware of the negotiations said Rashford rejected more prestigious clubs than Aston Villa as he would not have to relocate. Rashford said: “I was lucky to have a few clubs approach me but Aston Villa was an easy decision.”

It is an easy commute for Rashford, or his former United academy teammate RoShaun Williams, who has been his driver. Some Villa players reside in Cheshire and socialise in Manchester city centre.

Villa were desperate for a striker and at ‘panic stations’, according to one agent. The sizable sale of Jhon Duran to Al Nassr for £64million paved the way for Villa and United to quickly conclude a loan for the remainder of the season.

It absolutely suits all parties. Can you name Villa's main left winger? No. Rashford will slot in there and switch to centre forward if Ollie Watkins, forced off at Wolves recently, is ever unavailable.

Rashford gets to work under an excellent coach in Unai Emery and plays in the Champions League knockout stage for the first time in three years. United are no longer saddled with a player whose training form was regarded as so inadequate that Ruben Amorim said he would have rather played his 63-year-old goalkeeping coach.

Villa are