Former England star insists it's 'now or never' for Marcus Rashford

A former England international has insisted that Marcus Rashford's loan move at Aston Villa is a 'great signing' for the club, but it is 'now or never' for the player.

The Manchester United academy product completed his temporary transfer to Birmingham on Sunday night after falling out of favour under manager Red Devils boss Ruben Amorim.

Rashford has not played for United since mid-December and has had a disappointing campaign, scoring only four Premier League goals since August.

However, former England and Arsenal star Theo Walcott has insisted his move could be a success for Villa, which have an option to sign the player permanently for a pre-agreed fee of approximately £40million.

Sitting in the BBC Match of the Day 2 studio with Mark Chapman and Danny Murphy, Walcott said: 'He's now got a very intense manager who hopefully will bring the best out of him, and he's in an environment where he's got a few England team-mates as well.

'This is now or never really for Marcus Rashford. But we want to see him enjoying his football again.

'It's a great signing for Villa, it just gives them that other option. They're a team playing with confidence as well, which will help him.

'He needs to get back to fitness because he's not played for a period of time.'

Rashford - who has been at United since he was eight-years-old - had a total of 138 goals in 426 matches for the Red Devils.

Despite a stunning 2022-23 campaign individually, things went wrong during the last season, when United finished in 8th place, while the 27-year-old had only seven Premier League goals.

However, the latest deal seems to suit both parties.

'It's a good move for him. Unai Emery's strength is improving players and the improvement he's made on some of those Villa players who were there before he got there is incredible,' added former Liverpool player Danny Murphy to the discussion.

'It's a wonderful opportunity for him and I just hope he grasps it.'

On Monday, Rashford also welcomed Villa's new loan signing, Marco Asensio, from Ligue 1 reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain.

Viilains boss Unai Emery was eager to add more players in the attacking line following the departure of John Duran to Al-Nassr for £65m and Ollie Watkins' injury on Saturday.