It will be fascinating to see the future of Marcus Rashford this summer, but it does not seem like he will return to Aston Villa.
The Manchester United forward enjoyed a successful loan spell at Villa Park in the second half of last season, but a return to the club on a permanent deal seems unlikely.
In mid-May, BBC Sport reported that the winger thinks his boyhood club ‘would be prepared to sell him for £40m to anyone this summer’. Reading between the lines, you certainly get the impression that a permanent deal at Villa Park is off the table for Rashford.
marcus-rashford-aston-villa
If he does end up going elsewhere, the Villans will need a replacement for the electric England international.
Aston Villa eyeing up Rashford alternative
Replacing a player with the impact and star quality of Rashford will not be easy for Monchi and Co this summer, especially with potential PSR restrictions looming over them.
However, it seems as though manager Unai Emery has identified his ideal target.
According to a report from journalist Graeme Bailey, the West Midlands club are ‘keeping very close tabs’ on Barcelona attacker Ferran Torres.
He is a player who ‘has been on the radar of several Premier League clubs’ since leaving Manchester City, with ‘Villa seriously interested’ in adding him to their squad.
FC Barcelona's Ferran Torres in action
This is a move driven by manager Emery. It appears that the Villa boss would ‘absolutely love’ for his side to sign the Spain international this summer.
As for a fee, it was reported by a Spanish news outlet in May that he could cost around the £42m mark for any potential transfer to happen.
How Ferran Torres compares to Rashford
If Torres were to make the move to Villa Park this summer, he would add instant quality to their attack and bring Premier League experience, too. Of course, since leaving Man City, he has represented Barcelona, where, last season, he impressed.
FC Barcelona's Ferran Torres celebrates scoring their second goal
Breaking into a Barca front three that contains Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski, and, of course, Lamine Yamal, is not easy. Yet, Torres still showed his quality last season, with 19 goals and seven assists in 45 appearances.
In La Liga, he played 27 times, scoring ten times and grabbing six assists. However, perhaps the most notable game of the 2024/25 season from the Spaniard came against his former side, Valencia, in the Copa del Rey. Torres scored a hat-trick in a 5-0 rout at the Estadio Mestalla.
It certainly would not be easy to step in for Rashford if the Spaniard moved to Villa. The 27-year-old only played 17 games for the club, but had an incredible impact in such a short amount of time.
marcus-rashford-premier-league-aston-villa
The boyhood Man United star played 940 minutes, the equivalent of 10.4 full 90-minute games. He scored four goals and registered six assists in that time, leaving him with a goal-to-game ratio of 0.96.
Stepping into Rashford’s boots will certainly be a challenge for Torres. However, he already had a taste of the Premier League with Man City. In 28 English top-flight games, he scored nine goals and grabbed three assists.
Many Villa fans will surely be hoping the Spain international is essentially the second coming of Rashford, and the stats on FBref are there to back that up. The pair are statistically similar to each other over the past 365 days.
There are some noticeable stats which best showcase the similarities between the pair. For example, Torres last season averaged 3.09 shot-creating actions each game compared to Rashford’s 3.55 shot-creating actions per 90 minutes.
Torres and Rashford key stats compared
Stat (per 90)
Goals per shot on target
Key passes
Progressive passes
Shot-creating actions
Goal-creating actions
Take-ons completed
Stats from FBref
Stats like that show just how involved in the attack Torres is, which can certainly be said for Rashford, too. In that sense, and the fact that he maintains a similar creative output to the Englishman, suggests he would be a fantastic replacement. He is, as football scout Antonio Mango said, a "special" player.
ferran-torres-barcelona-premier-league-aston-villa
For around £42m, Torres could be a bargain for the Villa Park side. He is, in many ways, the second coming of Rashford, and should seamlessly be able to step into his shoes. Emery wants to sign him, and the price is fair. This seems like a brilliant deal for Villa.
Morgan-Rogers-Aston-Villa Related
[The next Rogers: Aston Villa pushing hard to sign "explosive" £30m star](https://www.footballfancast.com/emerys-next-rogers-aston-villa-pushing-hard-to-sign-jesus-rodriguez/ "The next Rogers: Aston Villa pushing hard to sign "explosive" £30m star")
Aston Villa could be about to win their next Morgan Rogers if they're successful in their advances for this rising star.