For the first time in 20 years, Marcus Rashford is no longer a Manchester United player. With confirmation of his loan to Aston Villa coming late on Sunday evening, a relationship spanning two decades was put on pause, having come apart in the space of two months.
A fresh start was necessary, as Ruben Amorim had repeatedly said since dropping Rashford for December’s Manchester derby. The question was whether Rashford’s fresh start would come on the training pitches of Carrington, fired by his manager’s criticism, or at another club entirely.
As The Athletic reported last month, Amorim had questioned Rashford after hearing he had been out in Manchester within 48 hours of the 4-0 win over Everton on December 1. The 27-year-old assured his manager that he had been misinformed about a late night.
GO DEEPER
Marcus Rashford at Manchester United. What happened?
Rashford was subsequently dropped to the substitutes’ bench for a midweek trip to Arsenal and did not start the following weekend’s defeat by Nottingham Forest either. His last — perhaps now last-ever — appearance for United was away to Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League on December 12, which lasted just 56 minutes.
Rashford then, according to sources speaking on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, produced a poor performance in training the day before the Manchester derby amid further concerns about his choices outside Carrington, and Amorim dropped him from the squad. United’s head coach did not see the desired improvement in Rashford’s output in the weeks that followed, and refused to bring him back into the side.
Many of Rashford’s team-mates understood the manager’s decision. So too did United’s hierarchy, who were willing to match their manager’s ruthlessness measure for measure.
Even before Rashford went public with his desire for a “new challenge” in a bombshell interview with journalist Henry Winter, just a few days after his omission from the derby, United were exploring options for his departure in the January window through intermediaries.
Rashford pictured after joining Villa on loan (Photo: Neville Williams/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images)
By publicly declaring his wish to leave, it was felt Rashford had surrendered some leverage over the finances of his potential exit. A salary of more than £325,000 a week ($404,000) when United are in the Champions League was always likely to be the greatest obstacle to any move but United now had freedom to push for as much of that to be covered as possible.
On this basis, attempts were made by United to persuade the England international to sacrifice some of that pay packet to facilitate a move. While some interpreted that as an emotional call given the tension that existed, or perhaps to emphasise to Rashford his future lay elsewhere, others would argue that all parties needed to do their bit to see him playing again.
It was felt by United that a resolution could be found quicker and Rashford would return to action sooner if he would agree to a loan club covering a significant proportion of his salary and forgo the rest, effectively taking him off United’s books until any loan ended.
Rashford wanted his contract honoured, however. Ultimately Villa have agreed to cover three-quarters of his wages, rising to 90 per cent based on performance-related bonuses. United will still pay the remainder and Rashford will receive his salary in full.
That still represents a substantial proportion of Rashford’s wages and a beneficial deal to United, hence a loan fee has not been included as part of the agreement. Villa also have a £40million option to sign Rashford permanently come the summer.
The likelihood of Rashford remaining in the Premier League had previously appeared remote. The most prominent initial interest came from Borussia Dortmund, Juventus and Milan, although the latter option was first complicated and then closed off by Kyle Walker’s loan filling the Serie A club’s final non-EU slot.
One potential destination advocated by United was Galatasaray, who had indicated that they would be willing to pay more than other clubs that were interested, but Rashford turned down the move, and ultimately the player drove the decision on the club he would join.
Barcelona were his first choice, with meetings held between Camp Nou executives and Rashford’s representatives, though finances of any move never fully added up. Complications over the registration of Dani Olmo and Pau Victor, a lack of interest in those on the fringes of Barcelona’s squad and a desire to extend the contracts of other players made any Rashford loan difficult from a financial perspective.
As Rashford’s options abroad dwindled, serious consideration began to be given to staying within the Premier League. Villa’s emergence caught several people connected to Old Trafford by surprise given the cost of the move and Rashford’s initial preferences, but Unai Emery had personally requested that Villa enter the race as he considers Rashford to be one of the world’s elite attacking players. Emery is confident that he will be able to bring Rashford back to his best.
The exit of Ashworth, right, reduced United’s transfer budget and led to an increased role for Wilcox (Photo: Eddie Keogh/Getty Images)
Talks between United, Villa and Rashford’s representatives accelerated from Friday onwards, eventually securing the fresh start he has needed, although the proximity between Manchester and Birmingham presents him with a chance to commute from his existing home to Villa’s Bodymoor Heath training ground.
With Rashford frozen out, his departure will arguably have a limited impact on the pitch. He had not made an appearance in United’s last 13 games, after all. On the other hand, the club has allowed a player with 138 career goals to leave without securing a replacement. The wisdom of that was being scrutinised by fans on deadline day and will be shown in time as the season progresses. United have lost 11 of 24 matches in the Premier League to sit 13th.
From United’s perspective, the January plan was to lose players deemed at odds with the culture Amorim wants to establish, add a left wing-back, and stay financially retrained before the summer, when a long-term centre-forward can be recruited. Critics argue United would have had more budgetary flexibility had the multi-million-pound cost of sacking Erik ten Hag, hiring Amorim, and dismissing Dan Ashworth not gone on this season’s accounts.
Though Amorim said United were “trying everything to improve the team” during a press conference after Sunday’s defeat by Crystal Palace, the ninth time United have failed to score this campaign, he also showed he understood the financial picture by adding, “Without doing mistakes of the past, trying to balance the urgency of the moment.” United’s consistent loss-making is the result of decisions made by the previous regime.
Money and timing dictated that any new attacker would likely arrive on loan. United were willing to consider taking either Mathys Tel or Leon Bailey on loan from Bayern Munich and Villa respectively, although interest cooled as the weekend progressed, with Bayern demanding a £5m loan fee for Tel without the option to buy. A loan proposal for Christopher Nkunku was knocked back on Sunday, with Chelsea wishing to keep the 27-year-old.
Bayern wanted an £5m loan fee for Tel (Photo: Sebastian Widmann/Getty Images)
The upshot is that a side who have scored seven goals in their past eight Premier League games are now short of another forward. United are nevertheless relaxed and satisfied with their wider January business, having delivered on the priority signing of a left wing-back.
The position was considered of critical importance to Amorim’s system leading up to the window and, given Luke Shaw’s lack of availability over the past year, United surveyed the market.
In autumn, calls were placed by United’s director of scouting Steve Brown to those representing Alphonso Davies, whose contract at Bayern Munich is due to run out in summer 2025. But United had previously overlooked Davies when first recommended to the club by scout Jorge Alvial in 2017, and that rejection was always going to make the move a tough sell now.
Real Madrid were also interested in Davies, who was allowed to talk to foreign clubs ahead of free agency, but the 24-year-old is now close to signing a lucrative new contract at Bayern, extending his time in Germany after signing from Vancouver Whitecaps in 2019.
Even if Davies had arrived as a free agent in the summer, he would have commanded a salary towards the higher end of United’s wage structure, in sharp contrast to the player eventually signed to be Amorim’s left wing-back.
Patrick Dorgu will earn around £ 40,000 a week at Old Trafford — a fair wage for a relatively unproven 20-year-old playing only his third season of senior football, but also a salary for a first-team level player that helps reset expectations after years of wasteful spending.
On top of Dorgu’s modest wages, Lecce’s initial demands of around €40m (£33.2m) were brought down by United’s director of negotiations Matt Hargreaves to an initial €30m plus a further €5m in add-ons.
United’s limited budget was well-documented coming into the window, with concerns over both compliance with financial fair play regulations and the club’s level of cash resources, but the Dorgu deal was viewed as achievable due to its reasonable cost.
GO DEEPER
Why Manchester United have a cash problem
The Denmark international was unveiled on the pitch at Old Trafford before Sunday’s defeat against Crystal Palace and was joined by Ayden Heaven — the teenage, left-footed centre-back signed from Arsenal in a compensation package worth around £1.5m.
It was not Heaven’s first time at Old Trafford. The 18-year-old attended the Europa League victory over Rangers, where he sat alongside Chido Obi, another young talent poached from Arsenal’s youth system over the past year.
As evidenced by his unveiling alongside Dorgu, Heaven is viewed as a club-led, first-team level signing, with technical director Jason Wilcox influential in the process.
Heaven’s scholarship deal at Arsenal was due to expire at the end of the season but United’s pursuit was brought forward after originally being planned for the summer. That show of haste could prove wise following Lisandro Martinez’s potentially serious knee injury, which could leave Amorim short of options at left-sided centre-back.
Due to regulations preventing Premier League clubs from signing players aged under 18 from abroad, a deal for Sporting winger Geovany Quenda is only possible in the summer, but is being explored at an expected cost of around €40m. United completed a pre-contract deal for 17-year-old left-back Diego Leon from Paraguayan side Cerro Porteno, wrapping up much of the talks before Christmas.
Paul Pogba’s return to availability as a free agent after the lifting of his drugs ban, which the Court of Arbitration for Sport accepted was “not intentional”, brought his name into reports on United in January.
Dorgu with Wilcox after signing for United (Photo: Manchester United)
Though those representing Pogba have a good relationship with Wilcox from his time at Manchester City’s academy, there were no talks about a third spell at Old Trafford, however. Pogba has been concentrating on getting fit on his own terms before his suspension is finished in March.
Any move for Pogba would have been out of kilter with United’s approach to this window: not only in signing younger, cheaper talent but also in at least attempting to shed costlier salaries, as well as those on the fringes of the squad.
Antony was allowed to join Real Betis on loan after making only three starts this season. As with Rashford’s loan, Betis will cover a substantial proportion — at least 84 per cent — of Antony’s approximate £105,000-a-week wages.
United explored multiple loan options for Tyrell Malacia, holding talks with Como and Benfica at separate points during the window before turning to a potential deal with PSV. Malacia was ready to leave United for Italy and then Portugal only for talks to break down over the club’s desired loan fee and the level of a future option to buy.
After spending 18 months rehabilitating from a serious knee injury, the 25-year-old faced more time on the sidelines behind Dorgu and a returning Shaw before late interest from PSV. Malacia travelled to the Netherlands to undergo a medical with both clubs hoping to agree a deal before the Dutch window closes today.
Other deals failed to get off the ground, however. Casemiro is still a United player, even as he is increasingly pushed towards the fringes of Amorim’s squad. The 32-year-old’s second-half cameo away to FCSB last week was his first appearance in eight games and he has been an unused substitute in 12 of United’s last 16 matches, starting only twice.
A long-touted move to the Saudi Pro League once again failed to materialise, with sources in the Gulf consistently distancing themselves away from the five-time Champions League winner, and any other potential escape routes unclear.
Casemiro remains one of United’s highest earners and still has a year remaining on his current contract, although the likelihood of the club triggering the option of a further year until 2027 has never appeared more remote.
Such inefficient use of resources is why United were reluctantly willing to consider the sales of Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho, much to the dismay of many supporters.
Those same fans will be pleased to see the window close with both remaining in place, although only after Garnacho attracted significant interest. Napoli submitted a £40m bid for the Argentina international which was rejected and Chelsea enquired as to Garnacho’s availability, days before his agents were spotted in attendance at Stamford Bridge.
As one of the few players in United’s squad with significant market value, Garnacho’s departure cannot be ruled out in future if required to raise funds or create headroom on spending rules at a time when further staff redundancies are expected. There have also been question marks over Garnacho’s stylistic fit to Amorim’s system.
And not to forget, Rashford was not the only player unexpectedly dropped from United’s derby-day squad. Garnacho was also cast out, with Amorim similarly citing standards for his omission, but was reinstated to the substitutes bench a few days later, and has since been hailed by the United manager for his willingness to listen, learn and adapt to demands.
There was a pathway back for one academy-raised winger, who could yet play an important part for Amorim’s United. But there was no path back for another, whose response failed to impress his manager in the same way, and must look to revive his career away from his boyhood club.
