Rashford was a national treasure who lost his way. He’ll begin a career relaunch at Villa in FA Cup
It has been almost two months since Marcus Rashford was seen on a soccer field.
In that time, his dedication to the game has been derided, his status as one of England’s most cherished players has been damaged, and he has been ushered out of his boyhood club — the team of his dreams — in quite brutal fashion.
It’s time to discover if new surroundings can ignite his career.
Fitness permitting, Rashford is expected to make his debut for Aston Villa on Sunday in an FA Cup fourth-round match against Tottenham, a week after completing his loan move from Manchester United.
Who knows what shape Rashford is in, physically or mentally, after an unhappy last few months at United where its new coach, Ruben Amorim, accused the striker of not putting in the requisite effort in practice. Amorim even suggested he would rather play his 63-year-old goalkeeping coach than someone who didn’t train hard, clearly referring to Rashford.
That comment surely marked the end for Rashford at United, at least for the time being. Now, it appears, he’s on a journey of rediscovery at Villa.
“I’ve had to choose somewhere where I feel my style of football is suited to, and can help them and help me rediscover and improve as a player,” Rashford said ahead of his Villa debut.
“It’s only short term I’m here, so I want to make the most of my time, and the only way to do that is by using my attributes and my skillset to help the team.”
That would suggest Rashford sees his future elsewhere come the end of the season, so he is in the shop window during these next few months. Not least in the Champions League, with Villa having qualified directly to the last 16.
United wasn’t even in Europe’s top competition. No wonder Rashford spoke of Villa’s “constant ambition” being attractive to him.
“It’s an ambitious time for this club and a great opportunity for me to join the team and help them keep pushing forward,” he said. “I’m excited, can’t wait for the first training session and obviously the first game.”
Fans across England will likely wish Rashford well. After all, this was the guy who became a national treasure when he took on the British government during the pandemic and forced lawmakers into a U-turn over funding meals for poor students after their initial resistance. A little over two years ago, English soccer fans were cheering Rashford for scoring for the national team at the World Cup in Qatar.
It remains to be seen how Rashford will be used by Villa manager Unai Emery, who has remodeled his attack during the winter transfer window by offloading three forwards — Jhon Duran, Emi Buendia and Jaden Philogene — and bringing in three more in Rashford, Donyell Malen and Marco Asensio.
Here’s what else to look out for in the latest round of FA Cup games, which will be played across Friday to Tuesday:
Brady’s bunch face Newcastle
As an appetizer for the Super Bowl on Sunday, NFL great Tom Brady may have an eye on the soccer team he has a minority shareholding in.
Brady is among the investors in U.S.-based Knighthead Capital Management, the owner since 2023 of Birmingham City — a third-tier club which hosts Newcastle on Saturday.
Brady is clearly retaining an interest in Birmingham, commenting on social media last week after an important league win for the team.
Newcastle is looking for a cup double, having reached the English League Cup final on Wednesday.
Debut for latest Man City signing
Four and a half months after Rodri’s season-ending knee injury, Man City finally has a like-for-like replacement for its key holding midfielder.
Nico Gonzalez signed for City from Porto late on the final day of the transfer window and the 23-year-old Barcelona academy graduate might be handed his debut for the match at third-tier Leyton Orient on Saturday.
Central midfield has been a problem area for City in Rodri’s absence so Gonzalez is under pressure to hit the ground running.
Other Premier League teams facing lower-league opposition include Liverpool, which must make the long journey south on Sunday to play second-tier Plymouth — a team recently managed by Wayne Rooney until his firing in December. Nottingham Forest also travels far to play Exeter on Tuesday.
There are four all-Premier League matchups, starting with Man United hosting Leicester on Friday. Also among them is Chelsea visiting Brighton late Saturday.
___
Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer