Marcus Rashford said he just wants to play football after joining Aston Villa on loan, with Manchester United great Gary Neville tipping the forward to succeed with his new club.

On Sunday, Villa signed Rashford on loan for the remainder of 2024-25. They will reportedly pay 75% of his wages and have an option to buy him for £40million at the end of the season.

The move comes after Rashford was frozen out by United boss Ruben Amorim, who recently said he would rather play 63-year-old goalkeeping coach Jorge Vital than Rashford.

Rashford has not featured for United since coming on as a substitute in a 2-1 Europa League win at Viktoria Plzen on December 12. His last league outing came in a home defeat to Nottingham Forest five days earlier.

Rashford has four goals in 15 league appearances this season, having scored seven times last campaign after hitting a career-best 17 goals in 2022-23.

He will now look to recapture his best form with Unai Emery's Villa, who required reinforcements after seeing Ollie Watkins go off injured in Saturday's 2-0 loss at Wolves. 

"I would like to thank Manchester United and Aston Villa for making this loan deal happen," Rashford said in an interview with Villa's media channels.

"I was lucky to have a few clubs approach me but Aston Villa was an easy decision. I really admire the way that Aston Villa have been playing this season, and the manager's ambitions. 

"I just want to play football and am excited to get started. I wish everyone at Manchester United all the best for the rest of the season."

Amorim has repeatedly questioned Rashford's attitude since joining United in November, and former Red Devils right-back Neville believes the forward needed to leave.

Neville feels working with Emery could bring out a new side to Rashford's game but warned the 27-year-old he cannot afford for this move to fail.

"He had to get out of the club. He's been battered in the last few weeks by his manager," Neville told Sky Sports on Sunday, shortly before the deal was finalised.

"That's the only person who matters in football, your coach, and I think some of the statements from Ruben Amorim towards Marcus Rashford have been brutal, emphatically saying that he doesn't want him. 

"There are a number of things that are in his favour at Villa. He's going to a far better team at this moment, he's going to a coach who's world-class, which is a real opportunity for him.

"The other thing is the style of play. How Villa play, I think, could suit Rashford as well. Maybe the spotlight won't be quite on him as it was at Manchester United but certainly there'll still be a lot of attention. 

"It absolutely sounds like what he needs. The last thing that I would think Rashford needs at this moment is someone saying, 'go and enjoy yourself'. 

"He needs to have some discipline in his game, he needs to be coached and he needs to make sure that the team know exactly what it is that they want from him."

Rashford's Villa debut could come against Tottenham in the FA Cup on Sunday, with Emery's team also hoping to sign Paris Saint-Germain forward Marco Asensio before then.