Marcus Rashford decision leaves Aston Villa team-mate ‘deeply disappointed’

Marcus Rashford’s arrival at Aston Villa on loan from Manchester United during the January transfer window has had a knock-on effect for one of his frustrated new team-mates

Donyell Malen has been left frustrated by Aston Villa after being omitted from their Champions League squad in favour of Marcus Rashford.

Rashford fell out of favour at Manchester United after new boss Ruben Amorim arrived in November, arriving at Villa Park during the January transfer window having not graced the pitch for the Red Devils since mid-December. And while fans and manager Unai Emery alike will be excited to see exactly what he can do for the club during his loan, his arrival doesn’t come without its compromises.

He made his debut in the 2-1 FA Cup win over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, replacing Malen in the 66th minute of the match. But the new team-mates won’t be playing together in Europe.

Emery left Malen out of their Champions League squad after they progressed automatically to the knockout stages. According to The Athletic, that’s left him deeply disappointed.

As per UEFA rules, Villa were only able to add three new names from their five January signings. As well as Malen’s arrvial from Borussia Dortmund in a £21million deal which will keep him at Villa Park until 2029, Andres Garcia joined from Levante in a £5.91m move, while Marco Asensio and Axel Disasi also signed on loan with Rashford.

Malen told reporters after his move that playing in the Champions League was “very important” to him when deciding to sign for Villa, explaining: “It’s a big thing, the Champions League. It’s the biggest competition in the world. I played in it for the last few years so for me it was a very important thing when deciding to move. This is where you want to play.”

However, Emery ultimately decided to leave him and Garcia out of the competition for the 2024/25 campaign. Disasi was a shoo-in given Villa’s defensive injuries, with Rashford and Malen’s similar profile leaving the decision down to one of them.

Speaking about his choice, the boss said: “It was not easy, the conversation with him. It is not fair but the rules pushed us to take the decision and I explained to him why we took it.

“Of course, he accepted but it is not easy for him to be with us now and not playing in the Champions League.” The choice ultimately will be disappointing for Malen, who played in last season’s Champions League final with Dortmund – suffering a 2-0 loss to Real Madrid.

Villa qualified for the knockout rounds of the current campaign’s competition with an eight-place finish in the new league format. The Midlands side achieved five wins, one draw and just two losses from their eight games, and will now face one of Club Brugge, Atalanta, Sporting CP or Borussia Dortmund in the round of 16.

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