Rashford has 'never been happier' after Manchester United exit to Aston Villa

Marcus Rashford has 'never been happier' after leaving Manchester United for Aston Villa, according to a report.

The 27-year-old has been reborn since his January loan move from Old Trafford and showcased talents many believed would never return in Villa's 5-4 Champions League quarter-final defeat by Paris Saint-Germain.

Prior to his switch to the Midlands, Rashford was frozen out at his boyhood club by Ruben Amorim amid concerns over his attitude and declining form.

According to the Manchester Evening News, the England international has 'never been happier' during his loan spell at Villa Park.

The report quotes a source as saying the England international has appreciated Unai Emery's man-management. The Spaniard opted for the forward in place of Ollie Watkins against PSG and was rewarded with a fine display against the French champions.

Rashford has netted three goals and six assists in 15 appearances for Villa, who have a £40million option to make his signing permanent at the end of the season. However, whether he remains at the club will largely depend on if Emery can raise his men from the disappointment of their Champions League exit and qualify for next season's tournament.

Without Champions League football, it is difficult to see how Villa sign Rashford. The 27-year-old earns £325,000 a week at United and has shown enough during this spell at Villa to generate interest among other clubs.

News of Rashford's delight at Villa comes in the wake of Red Devils legend Wayne Rooney's take that the forward still has his mind on returning to his parent club.

'Marcus Rashford wants to play for Manchester United, 100 per cent,' said Rooney on Amazon Prime. 'He is a Manchester lad, Man United fan, and over the last couple of years it has been difficult. He needed to play and it was clear he wouldn’t play for the rest of the season at United.

'He has clearly shown, sometimes you have to keep banging on the manager’s door, put them in a position where they can’t leave you out in an ideal world he would like to leave a legacy at United, whether that is possible I don't know, but this is what I’d love to see.'

There is no denying that at the moment Villa represent a more enticing project for a player, given their general upward mobility in recent years.

While United have largely stagnated and, in the case of the current campaign at least, moved further down the table, Villa have progressed under Emery in impressive fashion.

Amorim has shown with Alejandro Garnacho that he has been willing to bring players back in from the cold should they seemingly show the right work ethic, which means the door is likely far from closed for Rashford, but it could be a big summer for him.