Jadon Sancho makes feelings clear as Man Utd transfer officially confirmed

Manchester United winger Jadon Sancho sent a message of support to Marcus Rashford after seeing his former Manchester United team-mate join Aston Villa on loan.

Rashford has followed Sancho in completing a temporary switch away from Old Trafford, though the latter's move is expected to become permanent. Sancho's joined Chelsea on a season-long loan at the end of the summer transfer window, and are almost certain to trigger a permanent move come the end of the season.

After Rashford confirmed his Villa switch in an Instagram post, Sancho was one of the first to send a message in reply. "He's back," was the winger's simple response to his fellow England international.

A number of other United stars past and present were also spotted in the comments section. "All the best Rash," wrote Alejandro Garnacho, with Luke Shaw writing "Good luck my bro" and Scott McTominay also sharing a good luck message.

Rashford indicated in December that he wanted a new challenge, but had to wait until the final days of the window to get his move. Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund were also linked with a swoop, but instead he's staying in the Premier Leagie with Villa.

"I would like to thank Manchester United and Aston Villa for making this loan deal happen," the 27-year-old wrote. "I was lucky to have a few clubs approach me but Aston Villa was an easy decision - I really admire the way that Aston Villa have been playing this season, and the managers’ ambitions.

"I just want to play football and am excited to get started. I wish everyone at Manchester United all the best for the rest of the season."

Rashford hasn't played any senior football since December 12, when he was part of the United side which laboured to a Europa League victory over Viktoria Plzen. While he may need some time to get up to full-speed, Villa's situation could see him thrown into action sooner than planned.

Unai Emery's side allowed Jhon Duran to join Al-Nassr in a permanent deal before the Saudi transfer window shut, and first-choice striker Ollie Watkins only managed 45 minutes against Wolves on Saturday. Watkins has indicated he wants to stay put despite interest from Arsenal, but his readiness for the upcoming FA Cup match against Tottenham is uncertain.

"I changed him because he was feeling a little bit of pain in his muscle," manager Emery said on Saturday after withdrawing Watkins at half-time at Molineux. "Hopefully tomorrow we will test him and assess him and it won’t be anything important. I changed him because of it."

January signing Donyell Malen came off the bench on Saturday and had a goal controversially disallowed, but the sale of Duran and potential absence of Watkins leaves Villa light in attack. It remains to be seen whether Rashford is already in shape for an extended run-out.