Amorim explains why Marcus Rashford shining for Aston Villa is GOOD for Man Utd

Marcus Rashford is impressing on loan at Aston Villa, and scored his first two goals for the club on Sunday, but Ruben Amorim has no regrets about letting him leave Manchester United

Ruben Amorim says Marcus Rashford's return to form at Aston Villa is good news for Manchester United – but insisted his only focus is on the players he is coaching.

Rashford, on loan at Villa from United until the end of the season, scored his first goals for Unai Emery's side with a double in Sunday's 3-0 FA Cup win at Preston.

Amorim was asked about Rashford's return to form at Villa and whether that would have an impact on whether the forward – recalled to England duty since his loan move – still had a future at United.

But Amorim remained tight-lipped on Rashford's future and would only state that any United players doing well on loan is good news for the club, with Villa holding an option to buy the 26-year-old for £40million at the end of the loan agreement.

“We have a lot of games to play and I’m focused on my team and my players,” said Amorim. “Rashford is not my player at the moment, but every player that performs on loan is good news for our club.”

United travel to third-placed Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Tuesday, with Amorim not surprised at how well his Portuguese compatriot Nuno Espirito Santo has them playing this season.

As well as pushing for a Champions League place, Nuno has taken Forest to the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time since 1991, with Amorim hugely impressed with what he has done since taking over at the City Ground.

“First of all, I’m not surprised,” said Amorim. “I know the work that he did in Portugal, in Spain and he did really well here at Wolves. Then he went to Tottenham, started really well there, then things happened.

“But I’m not surprised. You feel it in the team, the environment that they have, the way his team plays, they have energy and mobility, so I’m not surprised. He’s a tough manager.”:

Asked if Forest playing 120 minutes on Saturday, before overcoming Brighton on penalties, would benefit United, who have not played for two weeks, Amorim said: “I don’t know.

“Nuno will say it was better to have more time to prepare for the game and it’s a long time in a good moment without games, but they played that cup stage, they won and that's really important to recover players.”

Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.