The Etihad Stadium has been the setting for some of Marcus Rashford’s most memorable highlights. Like nutmegging defender Martin Demichelis to score in his first Manchester derby as a teenager in March 2016. Or his nerveless penalty in another derby win for Manchester United in December 2019. Last season, he scored arguably the best goal of his career with a fierce shot that crashed in off the underside of the crossbar.
It was almost unimaginable then — a little over a year ago — that it could be his last appearance in a Manchester derby, but he returns to the Etihad on Tuesday as an Aston Villa player with his career at a crossroads.
Rashford is guaranteed to spend the next month with Unai Emery’s side after agreeing to a loan move in January until the end of the season, and his form — three goals and five assists in 16 appearances — even earned him an England recall in March after a period of exile.
What happens beyond that is up in the air.
His options are fairly clear: stay at Villa, agree to another loan move (which requires an agreement over splitting his salary), make a permanent move to a different club altogether or return to United. Sources have told ESPN another loan move has not been ruled out, as spending a season away would get the majority of Rashford’s wages off the books and eat up another year of his contract. Moving to Villa Park permanently, meanwhile, would either require Rashford to take a pay cut — something he was reluctant to do in January — or for United to pay up part of his current contract.
Overall, Rashford’s salary of around £350,000 a week remains a significant issue. Aston Villa — who have been happy with Rashford’s commitment and dedication in training and games — have an option to make his move permanent for £40 million, which in itself is not a problem. But they can’t afford to commit to a four- or five-year contract that would be worth tens of millions.
United’s summer budget is already tight, but they might be backed into a corner if Ruben Amorim makes it clear there is no way back. There may yet have to be an uneasy truce during the summer — similar to the one that saw Erik ten Hag briefly make peace with Jadon Sancho — while the details of a move are thrashed out.
An explanation of how Rashford got here, however, depends on whom you ask.
United’s staff have known for a while that his discipline and focus can fluctuate wildly. In the summer of 2022, he spent his time away from the team at Nike headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, to undergo a specifically tailored programme to focus on his fitness. He was up at 5 most mornings to train, in the gym or outside on the grass pitches with a ball, and when he returned to Carrington to meet new manager Ten Hag for the first time, the Dutchman and his staff were suitably impressed.
It was no surprise to those around the club that Rashford went from scoring five goals in 32 games during a disappointing 2021-22 campaign to reaching 30 goals in all competitions for the first time the following season. But by the summer of 2023, Ten Hag had noticed enough of a dip in Rashford’s standards to issue a warning during his first news conference of United’s preseason tour.
Asked a generic question about Rashford’s importance ahead of the new season, Ten Hag said the striker must have “the right attitude.” More telling, he went on to say that “players can’t match the sensational life and play top football.”
