Man Utd icon makes sad admission about Marcus Rashford that says it all

Jaap Stam revealed his disappointment in seeing Marcus Rashford playing for Aston Villa - admitting it's likely the forward will never be classed as a Manchester United legend. The England star left his parent club for the first time in his footballing career in January when joining Unai Emery's side on loan until the rest of the season.

Rashford, 27, had been frozen out of the United squad by head coach Ruben Amorim since December after the Portuguese boss questioned his work ethic and attitude. He was allowed to leave the club who inserted a £40million buy option should Villa want to make the move permanent in the summer.

Having only scored seven goals across all competitions for United this season, Rashford returned to form for the Midlands club since his arrival but failed to get off the mark in first nine games. However, the forward finally ended his 120-day goal drought on Sunday when scoring twice in their 3-0 FA Cup quarter-final victory away to Preston North End.

Despite his improved form - that saw him return to the England squad under Thomas Tuchel this month - that hasn't stopped Stam's disappointment that he's no longer playing for the Red Devils. The United icon admitted that while Rashford was potentially on his way to becoming a club legend, his lack of consistent form and subsequent exit means he longer has the opportunity to become a great at the club he joined as a child.

"It’s sad to see Marcus Rashford in an Aston Villa shirt because I thought he would be a very important player for Manchester United and stay for a very long time," the Dutchman told Makthavare.se. "He is such a talented player and has all the credentials to be a top forward, he is creative, he can score goals, he can be a real danger.

"For me, Marcus Rashford cannot be considered a legend at Manchester United, I think he left too soon to be considered as one. When you look at all his seasons at the club and for how many he performed at his best, he had one season under Erik ten Hag in which they changed the style of play and he scored a lot of goals and was a danger to every defence he faced.

"He got a new contract and everybody expected his form to carry on, but to be considered a true United legend you have to show that form for seven, eight or nine seasons. That is the level you need to reach to be considered a legend." Stam questioned the reasons behind Rashford's exit, claiming there's a chance he wasn't willing to "sacrifice" in order to show top form at United.

"I would’ve liked to see him have a big impact at United having come through the academy and shown glimpses of his ability, but it turned out to be too hard for him to perform," the Treble winner added. "You need to give everything, you need to be willing to sacrifice a lot of things to perform and to eventually become a very important player for a club like Manchester United and maybe he wasn't willing to do that."

What happens regarding Rashford's future with United remains up in the air, while Emery has refused to discuss the possibility of Villa triggering his buy option in the summer. "We can't waste time speaking about that," the Spaniard said when asked about the chances of Rashford returning on a permanent deal next season. "If next year we are in the Champions League, in the Europa, or Conference League or not. Or we don't win a trophy - it is completely different."