Man United 'spite' would motivate Marcus Rashford to relegate parent club

03/14/2025 03:30 AM

Marcus Rashford would not shy away from hurting parent club Man United while on loan with Aston Villa if given the chance, Darren Bent has claimed.

The England international was in an extremely difficult position at Old Trafford before making the switch to Villa Park last month, having been frozen out of Ruben Amorim‘s squad.

Under the guidance of Unai Emery, however, Rashford has thrived in the Villa squad, so much so that fans are desperate for a permanent deal to emerge ahead of the summer transfer window.

Given the way he left things with the Red Devils, the 27-year-old likely has something to prove to those back at Old Trafford, but with Premier League rules in place, he cannot directly play against his parent club.

Bent, however, has argued that loan players should be allowed to play against their parent club while loaned out, with the transfer either meaning they are in desperate need of development or there is no place left for the player.

Marcus Rashford to take opportunity to prove Man United wrong

Speaking live via talkSPORT [13 March, 4:24pm], Bent said: “If you’re a football club which has taken a player on loan and is paying 100% of the wages, they should be able to play in every single game.

“Whether it’s the club you’re on loan from or whoever, you should be able to play,” to which Andy Goldstein asked: “If Marcus Rashford has a chance to score a goal to relegate Man United, would he feel OK scoring that goal?”

Bent replied: “Nature of the beast. There’s a bit of added spite when a player goes back to his former club. Going against Man United on the last game of the season, Rashford will be so fired up before it.”

Ruben Amorim is serious danger of Man United tenure going wrong

Football Insider verdict

The manager’s start to life in Manchester has been far from ideal, with Football Insider understanding that Amorim told his friends that he was wrong to take the Man United job.

Many at Old Trafford already believe it was the wrong decision to send Rashford out on loan as Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund continue their struggles in front of goal.

United have now slipped to 14th in the Premier League table, and while they celebrated the 1-1 draw with Arsenal last time out, there are few reasons to be positive.

Of course, advancing in the Europa League should keep the fans onside with the new manager but many of his mistakes have already been scrutinised and it remains to be seen how much pressure he can take before cracking.

A summer transfer window would certainly help get the ball rolling on Amorim’s tenure, but with Sir Jim Ratcliffe experiencing financial issues at Man United this season, that might be a difficult ask.

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