Aston Villa close in on Marcus Rashford loan from Manchester United

Rashford has been frozen out at Old Trafford and is looking for a move this window

Aston Villa are closing in on signing Marcus Rashford on loan from Manchester United before the transfer window closes on Monday.

The Midlands club are looking at the England international as they search for a replacement for Jhon Duran, who has been sold to Al-Nassr.

Rashford has also attracted interest from Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus and AC Milan, among others, after revealing he was considering leaving Old Trafford.

The 27-year-old has not played for United since the Europa League win over Viktoria Plzen on 12 December and has only been named on the bench once since then by new head coach Ruben Amorim.

The Portuguese said last week that he would rather put his 63-year-old goalkeeper coach Jorge Vital on the bench than the forward, if he did not “give the maximum every day”.

Rashford has been exploring his options, though a move to AC Milan was ruled out when they signed Kyle Walker on loan from Manchester City, taking the final slot in their squad for an English player.

He was thought to be tempted by the prospect of Barcelona, though their financial issues could make any deal difficult.

Marcus Rashford has been frozen out by Ruben Amorim (PA Wire)

Rashford is one of the highest earners at Old Trafford, with a salary of over £300,000 a week, and United would have to negotiate with any other club about how much of his wages they would pay.

Villa have raised funds with the £64m sale of Colombia striker Duran, while they have rejected a bid from Arsenal for forward Ollie Watkins.

They are trying to sign another forward, with president of football operations Monchi confirming they are interested in Chelsea’s Joao Felix. The Portugal international only moved to Stamford Bridge in the summer.