Marcus Rashford: Man Utd loanee looking reborn under Unai Emery at Aston Villa | OneFootball

Marcus Rashford looks a player reborn under Unai Emery.

The Englishman has already captured the hearts of Aston Villa fans with his performances since joining on loan from Manchester United in January.

In four Premier League games with his new club, Rashford has showcased his creative aptitude, which statistically rivals anyone in the competition.

The winger has created the second-most big chances per 90 (2.01) in the Premier League since joining Villa, as well as completing the fourth-most take-ons per 90 in the league (4.02).

He has provided three assists in six games across all competitions, averaging one every 95 minutes. But how do his Premier League numbers at Villa stand against those he racked up at Man United in the first half of the season?

Rashford’s numbers at Villa compared to Man Utd

Although Rashford is yet to open his goalscoring account at Villa, he has outperformed his Man Utd self in almost every other attacking and passing metric.

Rashford’s playmaking at Villa has been among the best in the Premier League since his debut. The Englishman’s 2.01 big chances created per 90 (compared to 0.37 at Man Utd) and 3.52 chances created per 90 (compared to 1.37) are second and fourth in the division.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou recently labelled assists “the most useless statistic in world football” — and he’s got a point, especially when the player awarded with an assist does little to create a goalscoring chance. But this is not the case for Rashford.

The 27-year-old has tallied 0.89 Expected Assists per 90 at Villa, the most of anyone in the Premier League. The xA statistic “measures the likelihood that a completed pass will become a goal assist”, according to Opta’s definition, meaning Rashford has simply put his teammates in goalscoring positions more often than any other player in the league.

Rashford has also completed 19.61 final-third passes per 90 at Villa — the 13th most in the Premier League — compared to just 8.97 at Man Utd. He has been a focal point of attack for Emery’s side in general, averaging 69.89 touches per 90, over one-and-a-half times the amount he did at United (42.39 touches per 90).

His defensive work-rate at Villa has also been a stark contrast to his efforts at Man Utd; Rashford has made 2.01 tackles per 90 for Villa in the Premier League, compared to 0.64 per 90 at his boyhood club. Not to mention, the forward has won possession 3.52 times per 90 for Villa, while he managed to do so just 2.22 times per 90 at Man Utd.

However, it’s not quite been all glitter and gold for Rashford since his arrival in the West Midlands, as he still awaits his first goal since December last year.

He has taken 3.52 shots per 90 at Villa — the 12th most in the Premier League — compared to only 1.46 at Man Utd, but he has not found the back of the net once. In this time, he has accrued 0.14 xG per 90 at Villa compared to 0.16 with the Red Devils. It’s a minimal difference, but he still managed to score four league goals this season at his parent club, and is missing that clinical edge at Villa.

In fairness to Rashford, he is yet to miss a big chance for the Villans but he has still been way off the mark with his shots. His 28.57 per cent shooting accuracy at Villa is a far cry from the 56.25 per cent he managed at Man Utd.

Ultimately, Rashford has hit the ground running at Villa and has certainly rediscovered his form under Emery. In the small sample size available, his creative output is unrivalled by any other player in the Premier League. With his zeal in front of goal, and impressive goalscoring record throughout his career, it seems only a matter of time until Rashford breaks his duck for his new club.