MARCUS RASHFORD was last night set to sign a loan deal with Aston Villa.
That was despite the Manchester United striker having privately vowed never to play for another Premier League club.
Rashford, 27, is due for a medical today after agreeing terms which will see him continue to earn £325,000-a-week as United will cover 25 per cent of his wages.
Villa also have the option to buy the England striker at the end of the season for around £40million.
- Rashford will never play for Man Utd again under Ruben Amorim
- Thomas Tuchel has taken a clear stance on Rashford’s England future
- Out-of-favour star had expected a move to European giants
A United source told SunSport it had been made clear to Rashford he would not play for United again while Ruben Amorim was the boss.
Our source said: “Marcus always said he would never play for another club in England because he is a United fan.
“He started to think he needed to move earlier this season and wanted to go to a big European club.
“The reality is he’s not had the interest he expected. Villa first showed a tentative interest in him last November.
“Amorim has made it very clear he has no future at Old Trafford.
“Villa have managed to offer him two things — keeping his wage the same and Champions League football.”
Villa boss Unai Emery has promised new signings after selling striker Jhon Duran to Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr for a reported £70million.
Emery said: “There are two days left in the window. We’ll get some players to help us because we’re in the Champions League last 16.”
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”‘It must be embarrassing,’ says Wayne Rooney as he opens up on seeing Marcus Rashford on visit to Carrington” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6367990840112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]New England boss Thomas Tuchel has also given Rashford — who has 60 caps — hope that he can regain his England place if plays regularly.
Rash was left out of the Euro 2024 squad by ex-boss Gareth Southgate.
[authenticated-scripts src=”%3Cscript%20class%3D%22palin-poll%22%20src%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thesun.co.uk%2Fpollingwidgets%2Fv3%2Fwidget.js%3Fquestion_id%3D105140%26game%3Dpolling%22%3E%3C%2Fscript%3E” type=”embedded” width=”100″ /]
Our source said: “Tuchel told Marcus and his representatives he saw Marcus as an essential part of the England squad going forward.”
On Saturday, The Sun revealed the moment Ruben Amorim and Marcus Rashford’s relationship soured.
Following a 4-0 victory over Everton, the forward was accused of going on a night out.
A source said: “Marcus got called in by Amorim who said he believed he had breached discipline by going out.
“Marcus denied it and was adamant he had done nothing wrong. He asked the manager to show him the proof he’d been out and said something along the lines of, ‘Are you calling me a liar?’
“Their relationship has never recovered, and it’s hard to see how it ever will now.”
Two weeks later, Rashford was left out of the squad for the derby win at Man City.
And he then dropped a bombshell interview saying he wanted “a new challenge”.
The England star told Henry Winter: “For me, personally, I think I’m ready for a new challenge and the next steps.
“When I leave it’s going to be ‘no hard feelings’. You’re not going to have any negative comments from me about Manchester United. That’s me as a person.
“If I know that a situation is already bad I’m not going to make it worse.
“I’ve seen how other players have left in the past and I don’t want to be that person.
“When I leave, I’ll make a statement, and it will be from me.”
Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme – Sun Club.
Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme – Sun Club.