The Marcus Rashford narrative received an adrenaline boost recently with his brace for Aston Villa in the FA Cup against Preston North End.
These were Marcus Rashford’s first goals for Aston Villa since joining the club on loan and his first goal after nearly four months.
Man Utd fans had a lot to say about Rashford’s display but the opinion of the person that matters the most, Unai Emery, was a message to Man Utd.
Emery is a big fan of Rashford already and his latest comments after the brace will come as a frustration to people at Old Trafford because the player is now doing something he avoided at United.
Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images
Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images
Unai Emery on Marcus Rashford at Aston Villa
Normally, a player who scores a brace for his team can be expected to become the center of attention in post-match proceedings.
That attention gets to a fever pitch when the player in question is as high profile as Rashford, who always invites scrutiny regardless of where and how he plays.
Unai Emery was asked about his exploits vs Preston North End after the game and three of his words stood out the most.
Emery said: “Firstly, his commitment to work, to adapt quickly is very important and he’s doing it. Then to feel comfortable playing in this first XI is still work, but today he did one step forward, getting confident.”
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"Still work to get to his best level but today was a step forward" 💪
Unai Emery discusses Marcus Rashford's performance after he scored his first goals for Aston Villa in today's 3-0 win at Preston. pic.twitter.com/NqCm4sZNNU
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) March 30, 2025
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For a player who was criticised by Ruben Amorim, going as far as to say that he’d rather play his 63-year-old goalkeeping coach over a player who isn’t completely committed Emery’s three words – “Commitment to work” will frustrate people at Man Utd to no end.
Marcus Rashford’s form isn’t transferable to Man Utd
With every passing week and Emery’s statements, it is becoming increasingly clear that despite the narrative, Rashford needed to leave to find form.
He’s doing everything that was expected from him but only doing so after leaving the club, leaving nobody in any doubt that he was just no longer up for it at Man Utd.
Even if plays a blinder from now on until the end of the season, there’s no universe in which he comes back to United and rediscovers himself.
Something has permanently broken because he’s showing he’s clearly capable of doing the right things, just not at United.
His form isn’t transferable so the best case for United is he keeps this up and the club can turn a good profit on him via Aston Villa or someone else.