When will new signing Marcus Rashford make his Aston Villa debut?

It has been almost two months since Marcus Rashford was seen on a football field. In that time, his dedication to the game has been derided, his status as one of England's most cherished players has been damaged, and he has been ushered out of his boyhood club the team of his dreams in quite brutal fashion.

It's time to discover if new surroundings can ignite his career.  Rashford to make Aston Villa debut in FA Cup

Fitness permitting, Rashford is expected to make his debut for Aston Villa on Sunday in an FA Cup fourth-round match against Tottenham, a week after completing his loan move from Manchester United.

 

Who knows what shape Rashford is in, physically or mentally, after an unhappy last few months at United where its new coach, Ruben Amorim, accused the striker of not putting in the requisite effort in practice. 

Amorim even suggested he would rather play his 63-year-old goalkeeping coach than someone who didn't train hard, clearly referring to Rashford.

That comment surely marked the end for Rashford at United, at least for the time being. Now, it appears, he's on a journey of rediscovery at Villa.

"I've had to choose somewhere where I feel my style of football is suited to, and can help them and help me rediscover and improve as a player," Rashford said ahead of his Villa debut.

"It's only short term I'm here, so I want to make the most of my time, and the only way to do that is by using my attributes and my skillset to help the team."  That would suggest Rashford sees his future elsewhere come the end of the season, so he is in the shop window during these next few months. Not least in the Champions League, with Villa having qualified directly to the last 16.

United wasn't even in Europe's top competition. No wonder Rashford spoke of Villa's "constant ambition" being attractive to him.

"It's an ambitious time for this club and a great opportunity for me to join the team and help them keep pushing forward," he said.

"I'm excited, can't wait for the first training session and obviously the first game."  Fans across England will likely wish Rashford well. After all, this was the guy who became a national treasure when he took on the British government during the pandemic and forced lawmakers into a U-turn over funding meals for poor students after their initial resistance.

A little over two years ago, English soccer fans were cheering Rashford for scoring for the national team at the World Cup in Qatar.

It remains to be seen how Rashford will be used by Villa manager Unai Emery, who has remodeled his attack during the winter transfer window by offloading three forwards Jhon Duran, Emi Buendia and Jaden Philogene and bringing in three more in Rashford, Donyell Malen and Marco Asensio.