Aston Villa's sporting director Monchi has revealed the impact of Marcus Rashford's loan move from Manchester United, hailing the forward's resurgence under Unai Emery. The Manchester United academy product made a shock switch to Villa Park in February, amidst interest from European giants Barcelona and Juventus. The move came after Rashford fell out of favour with United manager Ruben Amorim, having not featured for the Reds since their victory over Viktoria Plzen on December 12.
Since arriving in Birmingham, the 27-year-old has been in fine form, contributing three assists in nine appearances and playing a pivotal role in Aston Villa's stunning run to the Champions League quarter-finals, where they are set to face PSG in April. Rashford's performances have also seen him return to the England fold under boss Thomas Tuchel, featuring in recent matches against Albania and Latvia.
Monchi praised the influence of coach Unai Emery in Rashford's revival, telling Radio Marca: "Unai is a coach who has historically helped players grow," and highlighting that stars like Rashford and Marco Asensio have flourished since Emery's arrival.
"Coming here makes players better, and that's our main selling point, beyond offering a project that's fighting for the top eight in the Champions League, that wants to continue growing, and that wants to keep playing in Europe."
Amorim had earlier revealed that Rashford's departure from United was due to their differing perspectives on the game.
"I couldn't get Marcus to see the way you're supposed to play football and to train the way I see it," he explained. "Sometimes you have one player that is really good with one coach, and the same player with another coach is different.
"I wish the best to Rashford and to [Villa manager] Unai Emery, and they can connect because he's a very good player."
The praise comes after United icon Bryan Robson called on Rashford to return to Old Trafford at the end of the season and reproduce this Villa form with the Red Devils.
"Well, I haven't come out publicly and said anything, but the TV pundits drive me crazy," Robson told Express Sport with betselect.co.uk. "I'm talking about ex-players saying that as soon as he went to Villa, he was enjoying his football again.
"Hold on a minute. You are so fortunate to be a football player. If I'm at Man United, I'm enjoying my football, or I should be enjoying my football, and I'm going to work hard to try and make the team successful.
"So when you go to Villa, it's no different from playing for Man United. You try and enjoy your game and do the best you can. So there's no excuses."
This article first appeared on the Manchester Evening News.