Rashford joined Aston Villa on loan in January 2025, after falling out of favour under manager Ruben Amorim. The loan deal between the two sides includes a clause allowing Villa to buy for £40m. However, things could go in a different direction if a deal to swap Rashford for Watkins is agreed.
According to The Athletic , MU quietly negotiated with Villa about the possibility of a player exchange. At that time, Watkins was also said to be ready to leave, and was even offered for sale to Arsenal. Although Villa did not end up buying Rashford outright, the "Red Devils" continued to pursue Watkins with a separate move this summer.
Currently, coach Amorim wants to add a new striker, while Rashford has returned to Old Trafford but has almost no future here. Sources confirm that MU is exploring the possibility of recruiting Watkins to upgrade the attack. Watkins' price is around 40-50 million pounds.
As for Aston Villa, the Villa Park team are under pressure to balance their books to avoid breaching Premier League financial regulations. The sale of Watkins will certainly cause controversy within Villa, especially after they let Jhon Duran leave for Al-Nassr for £65m not long ago.
Watkins was personally upset when he was benched in the two Champions League quarter-final matches against PSG, leaving Rashford in the starting lineup. "Honestly, I was very upset because I only got 20 minutes per match," Watkins told Sky Sports . "I told Unai Emery straight. I respect his decision but I'm not the type of player who accepts being on the bench."
If he returns to Old Trafford, Watkins is almost certain to start because he has more Premier League experience than young strikers like Rasmus Hojlund or Joshua Zirkzee. Last season, the English striker scored 17 goals and had 14 assists, enough to make MU crave a real killer in the penalty area.
In addition to Watkins, MU is also eyeing Brentford's Bryan Mbeumo and Sporting Lisbon's Viktor Gyokeres. However, both of these deals promise to cost no less than £60 million.
Source: https://znews.vn/mu-bi-mat-trao-doi-rashford-post1565444.html
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