Soccer

Roy Keane questions whether Marcus Rashford will rediscover his hunger at Villa

The 27-year-old England forward has not played since December 12.

Marcus Rashford’s loan move from Manchester United to Aston Villa has been questioned by Roy Keane
Marcus Rashford’s loan move from Manchester United to Aston Villa has been questioned by Roy Keane (Martin Rickett/PA)

Roy Keane has questioned Marcus Rashford’s move to Aston Villa “if he lost the hunger at Manchester United”.

Rashford has joined Villa on loan for the remainder of the season after falling out of favour with United boss Ruben Amorim at Old Trafford.

Amorim said he could not get Rashford to see football the way he does amid conjecture over the England forward’s application in training.

“If he’s lost the hunger at Man United – how will he get it at Aston Villa?” former United captain Keane said on ITV ahead of the Red Devils’ FA Cup fourth-round tie against Leicester.

“Once you lose the hunger it’s hard to get it back.

“It’s sad but it’s been on the cards the last year or two, especially since the new manager’s come in. Clearly they didn’t get on.

“The manager got no reaction from Marcus. The strange thing for me was I thought when Marcus was going to leave Man United he was going to go abroad and try something new.

“A new adventure for him, a different league, a different challenge. To go to Villa surprises me a little bit.

“I know Aston Villa are going along nicely, but you can’t compare them to Manchester United.”

Rashford played in the Portuguese’s first six matches but was dropped for the Manchester derby in mid-December, after which the 27-year-old revealed he was ready for a new challenge.

He did not play for United again following the Europa League trip to Viktoria Plzen on December 12 before joining Villa, who have qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League under Unai Emery.

Marcus Rashford (right) fell out of favour with new Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim
Marcus Rashford (right) fell out of favour with new Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim (Martin Rickett/PA)

Keane’s fellow pundit Ian Wright said: “He’s going to a team that’s performing better. We can’t disrespect Villa, what they’ve done and what they’re trying to do.

“If Marcus can go there and recapture it they can build around him. He’s a good player.

“Everybody has been talking about his body language here (at United) and what’s going on.

“He’s done great for Man United up to this point but maybe it’s time to leave. You hope he can recapture because if he doesn’t, then what?”