Marcus Rashford will no doubt keep his mobile telephone close to him on Friday morning. But even if he does not make Thomas Tuchel’s first England squad, the forward must already know that he could not have made a better choice than joining Aston Villa to reignite his career.
And in head coach Unai Emery, Rashford is playing for the great rehabilitator – the man who has woken one of English football’s giants and turned around the fortunes of a number of his players.
After going through Manchester United’s washing machine of managers and failed signings, Rashford has found somebody who really and truly believes in him. He also now has a team-mate in Marco Asensio who he clearly loves playing with.
The goal Rashford set up for Asensio against Club Brugge was the fourth time the pair have combined to score since arriving at Villa Park, with Rashford also assisting for the Spaniard twice against Chelsea and once against Cardiff City in the FA Cup.
Those contributions have been huge for Villa, who are still in with a chance of qualifying for next season’s Champions League through the Premier League, face Preston North End in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup and are now looking forward to taking on Paris St-Germain in the last eight of the Champions League.
This is exactly what Rashford and Asensio moved to Villa for. To play in the biggest games, compete for trophies and be given the chance to show what they can do.
He might not have scored his first Villa goal yet, but Rashford is clearly getting his mojo back. Hugging the left touchline, he sat on the shoulder of Kyriani Sabbe waiting for the kind of ball Emiliano Martínez eventually delivered for him to race through and get the Brugge defender sent off.
And when he was sent scampering away by Morgan Rogers in the second half, Rashford only had eyes for Asensio as he closed in on Simon Mignolet’s goal. He could have easily been selfish or gone for glory, but Rashford put the team ahead of himself and Asensio pointed in gratitude as he celebrated.
Ruben Amorim had disrespectfully declared that he would rather play his 63-year-old goalkeeping coach at United than Rashford. But Emery rates him as one of the best in the world and has shown he has the magic touch in terms of pulling players out of the doldrums.
When Emery walked through the door at Villa Park, the club were not only staring the possibility of relegation in the face but the likes of Tyrone Mings, John McGinn and Ollie Watkins were facing uncertain futures.
Mings had been bombed out by Steven Gerrard, McGinn had lost his place in the first team, later admitting that he thought he was “done” at the club, and Watkins was struggling to score goals and hold down a regular spot ahead of Danny Ings.
But all three have been crucial in Villa’s incredible journey to the Champions League under Emery, with Mings and Watkins becoming England internationals and McGinn making himself Scotland’s main man.
The trio started in Wednesday night’s last-16 second leg against Brugge and Rashford only has to look at how their careers have turned around, thanks to Emery, to see what is possible for him in the Midlands. Asensio will be relishing the opportunity to show PSG, his parent club, what they are missing.
This month will mark a year since Rashford last played for England. But whether it comes on Friday or further down the line, his next international call will not be far away if he keeps repaying the faith of Emery, the great rehabilitator.
