Aston Villa Under-18s forward Cole Brannigan admits Marcus Rashford is a role model for the academy players.
Signed on loan from Manchester United at the start of February, Rashford has impressed in the six appearances he has made so far.
After catching the eye off the bench against Tottenham in the FA Cup fourth round, Rashford then came close to assisting a winning goal against Ipswich Town as he pulled the ball back for Morgan Rogers late on, before goalkeeper Alex Palmer made a stunning save.
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He was then handed his first start against Liverpool, where Villa drew 2-2 with the league leaders, but dropped to the bench against Chelsea having played so much football in a short space of time after hardly featuring for United in the weeks before his move.
And the loanee was electric off the bench against Chelsea last weekend, assisting Marco Asensio for both of his goals as Villa came from behind to win 2-1, before then combining with the Spaniard to break the deadlock against Cardiff on Friday.
Despite Ruben Amorim suggesting Rashford was a bad trainer at United, the England international has attracted rave reviews for his performances at Bodymoor Heath.
Brannigan spoke to News Letter last week and shined a light on his experience of training alongside Rashford.
“We played them on the Wednesday and he (Rashford) trained…he’s by far the best player I’ve seen technically with the ball – he was absolutely ridiculous,” said Brannigan. “I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
“We have a family group chat and I just put in ‘Marcus Rashford is absolutely ridiculous’. Having Marcus Rashford at the club, he’s someone for me to look up to.”
Villa have an option to buy Rashford for £40m in the summer once his loan move comes to an end.
