Aston Villa are exploring the possibility of signing Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford before Monday’s transfer deadline.
Rashford has been frozen out of Ruben Amorim’s squad at Old Trafford, with the United boss saying after Sunday’s win over Fulham he would rather select 63-year-old goalkeeping coach Jorge Vital.
Villa are looking for attacking players and boss Unai Emery has identified the 27-year-old as a target, the PA news agency understands.
Any move would likely be a loan deal and Villa would have to find a way of financing Rashford’s hefty wage if the player was interested in a switch to Villa Park.
Aston Villa can confirm that Jhon Durán has joined Al Nassr for an undisclosed fee.
Everyone at Aston Villa would like to wish Jhon all the best in the next step of his professional career. pic.twitter.com/du26gbKUav
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) January 31, 2025
Villa are also interested in Chelsea’s Joao Felix and Paris St Germain’s Marco Asensio but can only bring in players if it is financially viable.
They do have some funds available after Jhon Duran’s exit to Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr was confirmed on Friday in a deal which could be worth up to £71million.
However, Emery has said Ollie Watkins is happy at the club and will not be leaving after Villa rejected a bid from Arsenal, reported to be in the region of £60million, earlier this week.
“Yes, he is happy to stay,” the Spaniard said. “You can ask him, but we asked him how he is feeling every day, every year he has been here with Aston Villa, with us and without us.
“We talked with him and he is very focused on the message we have.
“The commitment of Ollie Watkins with us is a huge commitment, he appreciates a lot how Aston Villa was always supporting him, helping him and when we joined him here two years ago, how we worked with him, always trying to get the best of him.
“Now we need him, like he needed Aston Villa. The conversation we are having usually, I am speaking with him a lot, he is always adapting of every circumstance we have in the squad and individually with him.
“When there are some teams calling us being interested in the players of course it is very good for us and very good for the players.
“Some players prefer to leave and some players accept to stay here, to be here and commit with us here and to be with our challenge. One of those is Ollie Watkins.”
The fee for Colombia international Duran, who has agreed a deal until 2030 at Al Nassr, is the second biggest Villa have received behind the £100m Manchester City paid for Jack Grealish.
Regarding Felix, Villa’s president of football operations Monchi revealed in an interview with Spanish radio that Emery has always been a big fan of the Portugal forward.
“There are names, one of them being Joao,” he told El Larguero. “Emery likes him, because in the three transfer markets I have been in, the fourth with this one, he has always been mentioned and has been a small object of desire for Emery.
“But it is complicated and I don’t know if we will be able to be there.
“He is a player with a lot of quality and Emery has been able to recover players who were considered lost in his history as a coach and he trusts in Joao’s talent.”
