Roy Keane has branded Marcus Rashford “very good” after he produced his third assist in six games for Aston Villa, but suggested the forward now needs to focus on “scoring a few goals himself”.
Rashford has made a good start to life at Villa after he joined the club on loan in the January transfer window after being frozen out at Manchester United. The 27-year-old was axed by Ruben Amorim over his approach to training, with the Red Devils boss even claiming he would rather put his 63-year-old goalkeeper coach on the bench over Rashford.
However, Unai Emery has handed Rashford a lifeline at Villa and he impressed in their 2-0 FA Cup win over Cardiff, setting up Marco Asensio’s first goal. “Villa dominated in every area of the game and it was a matter of time before they scored,” Keane told ITV.
“They probably could’ve scored a few more but Cardiff did well. The game became a bit open and that suited Villa. Marcus is very good at doing that [his assist], he had a bit of luck at the end but he needs it.
“A quality player walks onto it. Lovely, well-worked goal but he should be thinking about scoring a few goals himself. You want options and Villa have plenty of them. It’s about finding the balance.”
Keane’s comments come after he previously blasted Rashford over his Old Trafford exile, claiming he should be “ashamed” at being frozen out. Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, a furious Keane said: “I can’t get involved in the conversation, I still can’t understand at any level.
“Whatever’s going on with players leaving, months left on contracts, a player who doesn’t train properly… I don’t understand it. You might as well leave me out of this conversation.
“Especially if you think he wants to move, which is more of a reason to train properly so when you go to a new club you’re up to speed and when you leave the club at least you showed a decent attitude. He must be ashamed.”
Villa are paying 75 per cent of Rashford’s £325,000-a-week wages, a figure that could rise to 90 per cent depending on performance-related bonuses, and do have an option to make the move permanent next summer for £40million.
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