Marcus Rashford returns to Manchester this evening when his loan club Aston Villa face Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium
"I wish the best to Marcus Rashford and to [Aston Villa manager] Unai Emery, and [hope] they can connect because he's a very good player," was Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim's rather diplomatic response when asked about the winger leaving for the first time after the news was made official.
Rashford's exit at the time seemed inevitable after Amorim had clearly lost his patience with the forward. After dropping him for the Manchester derby at the Etihad Stadium, the winger would make just one squad before moving on loan to Villa, where he has been able to return to the Champions League while United have floundered.
Amorim has said that Rashford failed to adapt to his style of football and on more than one occasion questioned the player's work ethic in training. The Portuguese head coach even went as far as to say that he would prefer to place his 63-year-old goalkeeping coach on the bench before a player who would not give their all in training.
It was heavily implied that this was in reference to Rashford, but United insisted that this was a generalised point. Whichever way you look at it, it is clear that the boyhood Reds fan did not fit Amorim's high standards.
Arguably then, it will be highly frustrating for the United manager to hear such glowing reviews of Rashford from a senior player like John McGinn at Villa. Speaking to Sky Sports, the Scotland international explained: "He's used to being in the spotlight, used to being under pressure, and I think in these games he's thrived under it, he's really enjoying it.
"It's nice to see him every day with a smile on his face - I think it's very easy to look at the negative press that surrounds Marcus and has done for a while and be judged by that. But you judge with your own eyes, you judge who is about the place to people, and I must say he's been first class, both on and off the pitch.
"Very good guy, humble, hardworking, all the things you read that you don't expect to see - but in an Aston Villa jersey he seems to be thriving." Such a glowing review of the winger will surely leave Amorim puzzled at best, frustrated at worst.
Considering what he saw so soon into his tenure at Old Trafford, Amorim will undoubtedly be questioning why he could not illicit the same reaction from Rashford. There is no guarantees that Rashford would have performed to the same standards he has managed at Villa Park but having him in the club showing the right mentality could have been worth its weight in gold.
Unfortunately for Amorim, that ship has now sailed and United are destined to sell Rashford but that does not make accounts like McGinn's any less infuriating for the Reds' boss.
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