Aston Villa followed up their fruitful summer transfer window last year with a similarly impressive January window.
Aston Villa signed Donyell Malen and Andres Garcia permanently and also landed Marcus Rashford, Marco Asensio and Axel Disasi on loan.
Rashford is the most high-profile arrival at Villa Park, with fans and neutrals alike eager to see how he gets on after leaving Manchester United.
Phil Jones, one of Rashford’s former teammates at Old Trafford, has now told Villa what to expect from the forward, as well as how to get the best out of him.
Phil Jones urges Aston Villa to support and show love to Marcus Rashford
Jones has described Rashford as a player with “unbelievable amounts of talent” who boasts “so much potential”.
The former Man United defender also said Rashford has lost his confidence and, with the right love and support, can get back to his very best.
“There’s a kid there who has got unbelievable amounts of talent,” Jones said on The Football News Show on BBC Sport.
“I can only speak personally from when I played with him at United and at England. I think he is a fantastic player, who needs a bit of love, a bit of support.”
Jones continued: “He has got so much potential.
“So much ability with the ball, just to be able to manipulate the ball when he’s running at speed and just spin one in the top corner, left foot, right foot.
“He’s just lost his confidence at the minute and I hope that he can get that back.”
What pundits have said about Rashford’s Villa move
As one of the most high-profile players in English football, Rashford’s move has had many people talking.
For instance, Chris Sutton and Theo Walcott both believe there are elements of risk to Rashford’s switch to Villa.
“We will find out, won’t we? I think Marcus Rashford has a lot to prove and I wouldn’t normally say that about a player like him,” Sutton said.
“It is a risk from Aston Villa. Unai Emery feels he can get Marcus fully focused again and if that happens, there is no doubting the ability he has.
“It is a trial period. There is the option to move permanently in the summer. Marcus Rashford is on trial.”
Walcott added: “It is a tough team because Aston Villa have a lot of good players as well. Unai Emery is a manager who is not shy of dropping players.
“It is about proving himself really, but not just to Villa but to everyone. And to himself as well.”
Meanwhile, Ian Wright thinks Villa is a good move for Rashford, claiming that he’s joining a team in a better position than Manchester United.
However, Wright warned Rashford that he can’t afford to stutter at Villa in the same way Raheem Sterling has at Arsenal.
“I don’t think it’s a gamble,” said Wright. “In all seriousness I think it’s a very good move to a team that, if we’re being totally honest, are doing better than the team he’s just left.
“He can go into a team that’s playing well with fans to give him that boost.
“What you don’t want is to get there and stutter like Sterling at Arsenal. You hope he goes to Villa and he finds something that we’ve been waiting for him to find.”
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