Aston Villa striker Marcus Rashford
Aston Villa striker Marcus Rashford
Como president Mirwan Suwarso has admitted that the Serie A club coached by Cesc Fabregas attempted to sign Manchester United winger Marcus Rashford in the January transfer window.
Rashford's long association with United has ended at least temporarily this month after the winger signed for Aston Villa on loan. The forward's relationship with manager Ruben Amorim was beyond repair when a move to Villa Park was finalised.
MEN Sport understands that Rashford preferred a move to Barcelona but the Catalan club were not willing to negotiate on a deal until the summer. With remaining at Old Trafford until the end of the season not an option, the winger chose to link up with Unai Emery who had personally requested to work with Rashford.
However, Villa were not the only club wanting to sign Rashford. Speaking to Sky Italia, Suwarso was asked if his team had tried to sign Rashford and Theo Hernandez, to which he responded: "We tried to do our best to give our coach the players he needed for his style of football.
"We analysed our needs and, when possible, we tried to resolve them. You have read about many names.
"Well, not all of them, but many were true. We were close to many players, some of whom did not leave."
"Yes, we tried [to sign Rashford and Hernandez], but we are also aware that we are a small club, so there are people who still do not take us seriously," Suwarso added. "When these big names hear about Como, they say: ‘No, I want to play in the Champions League.'"
Had Rashford signed for Como he would have been following in the footsteps of Raphael Varane. The French defender joined the Italian side in the summer but was forced to retire just a couple of months later.
Varane remains at Como as a board member since hanging up his boots.