Unai Emery has claimed that no decision has been made about whether the club will turn Marcus Rashford's loan deal at Aston Villa into a permanent transfer.
The English winger scored twice against Preston North End on Sunday and helped fire the Villans in to the semi-finals of the FA Cup against Crystal Palace.
Rashford's showings on the pitch for Villa have significantly contrasted with his displays for Manchester United earlier this campaign, with Ruben Amorim only starting him three times before his move in January.
Speaking in the aftermath of his team's FA Cup triumph, Emery responded to questions in relation to whether a decision had been made on turning Rashford's loan into a permanent deal, saying: "Not yet. The most important thing is the challenge now and this afternoon, recovering and then preparing for the match against Brighton tomorrow.
"A decision about each individual player, it is to get the best of them and the best of us. We don't want to waste time thinking about it."
Villa have the option to sign Rashford permanently from Manchester United for a fee of £40m in the summer, but the club could reportedly face financial difficulties in the summer and will have to weigh up the pros and cons of any transfer very carefully.
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Should Villa sign Rashford permanently?
Rashford's goals against Preston were his first for the club, though he had registered four assists in his prior six matches for Emery's side.
The winger has only completed one full match for Villa and has started just five times for Emery, but he has still managed to make an impact in most of his outings.
Rashford's last game for Manchester United was against Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League on December 12, and his next match came for Aston Villa against Tottenham Hotspur on February 9 in the FA Cup.
Given the 27-year-old went such a long time without stepping foot on the pitch, it is understandable that it would take him some time to get back to his best.
If Villa were to sign the forward permanently, they will hope that he can get back to the level he displayed in 2022-23 when he scored 30 goals and provided nine assists for United in all competitions.
Rashford also managed to score against the elite in that season, finding the back of the net against Arsenal (3), Manchester City (1), Liverpool (1), Chelsea (1), Tottenham Hotspur (1) and Barcelona (1).
At his very best, Rashford is capable of threatening even the best defences, and if his form continues to improve then perhaps Villa should utilise their buy option before it expires.
Lewis Nolan
