A sign for Marcus Rashford of Aston Villa
A sign for Marcus Rashford of Aston Villa (Image: Getty Images)
Ambitious Como president Mirwan Suwarso has claimed that the Serie A club attempted to lure Marcus Rashford to Italy in the January transfer window - but the Manchester United forward had a desire for Champions League football which Aston Villa were able to satisfy.
Rashford joined Villa late in the window having been frozen out at Old Trafford by manager Ruben Amorim; Villa have the option to sign the England international permanently in the summer for a fee in excess of £40m, provided things go according to plan for all parties, but it would appear his long-term future lies away from United at any rate.
Rashford's future is likely to come under the spotlight again in the summer, with Barcelona having also taken an interest in January, while this past window big spending Como declared they attempted to offer the forward a path out of England altogether. Rashford, who made his Villa debut on Sunday in the FA Cup, wanted to return to the Champions League, though.
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Villa, who secured a fourth placed finish last season and are in the final 16 of this year's competition, have named the 27-year-old in their Champions League squad alongside Axel Disasi and Marco Asensio and he is likely to be involved when they are next in action at the beginning of March.
For Suwarso, whose Como side are managed by Cesc Fabregas and who have the likes of Pepe Reina, Patrick Cutrone and, as of January, Dele Alli, in their squad, the attempts to sign Rashford and also AC Milan defender Theo Hernandez proved futile.
"We tried to do our best to give our coach the players he needed for his style of football," Suwarso told Sky Italia. "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, but we are also aware that we are a small club, so there are people who still do not take us seriously. When these big names hear about Como, they say ‘no, I want to play in the Champions League'.
"This makes sense, we understand well what we can and cannot do. We dream. As human beings, this is what always makes us move forward. Every day we look forward to something bigger, every day we try to do something better than the day before."
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