Marcus Rashford says Aston Villa’s “constant ambition” attracted him to the club and he hopes to rediscover his form after he signed for the club on loan from Manchester United until the end of the season.
The 27-year-old did not feature for United since their win over Viktoria Plzen in the middle of December and was linked with a move to AC Milan and Barcelona before finally making the switch to Villa Park on Sunday.
It will be the first time Rashford has played for someone other than the Red Devils having made 426 first-team appearances for the club since 2016.
Villa still have plenty to aim for this season including a Champions League last-16 clash to come with either the winners of Club Brugge v Atalanta or Sporting v Borussia Dortmund.
Rashford admits the club’s ambition and the prospect of playing in Europe’s top competition is what made him make the switch to Birmingham.
In a first interview, he told Villa TV: “Definitely excited. It’s an ambitious time for this club and a great opportunity for me to join this team and help them keep pushing forward. I’m excited and can’t wait for the first training session and game.
“He’s a top manager and what he’s done for the club since coming in is unbelievable. It’s their constant ambition which is attractive and why you want to join such a club. You want to keep improving year on year and that’s what the team’s been doing and doing this year.
“They are still in the Champions League and we want to go as far as we can in that and if you don’t aim to win it, you’ll never win it so that will be my main objective and keep pushing in the league to get as high as possible.
“This is my first time playing for any other team so you don’t know what to expect but it’s been more excitement, not scared of going into a new environment so it’s all been exciting but with them lads [Watkins and Konsa from England] being there it’s good.”
Rashford was a constant feature under old boss Erik ten Hag but quickly fell out of favour when Ruben Amorim walked through the door.
He scored the first goal of Amorim’s tenure in a 1-1 draw with Ipswich and grabbed a brace against Everton but was then restricted to substitute appearances before being totally left out of the team.
Rashford could make his debut when Villa meet Tottenham in the FA Cup fourth round on Sunday.
Asked why he wanted to join Villa, he said: “They’re a club that’s in a good position in the league and pushing to get higher. Still in the Champions League, good manager, ambitious manager, great talent in the squad.
“I’ve had to choose somewhere where my style of football is suited and can help them and help me rediscover and improve as a player, its only short term and I want to make the most of my time here.
“The biggest competition for the club to be involved in and always great nights so it’ll be a new experience for me playing for Villa in the Champions League but like I said it’s always going to be a great moment but the aims will be the same to try our best to win it.”
