Arne Slot said it would be a “complete surprise” if Marcus Rashford did not make a success of his Aston Villa loan spell.
Rashford was shipped out on loan to Aston Villa during the January transfer window after being frozen out by Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim due to a string of below-par performances in training.
It saw Rashford, who joined the club at the age of seven, experience football outside United for the first time in his career, with Aston Villa moving quickly to snap up the England international as a replacement for Jhon Duran, who moved to Saudi Arabia.
Rashford and Villa face Premier League leaders Liverpool on Wednesday night at Villa Park, and Liverpool head coach Slot has insisted he is all too aware of the quality the forward possesses.
“Of course, I knew Marcus Rashford because I followed the Premier League,” Slot said on Tuesday. “But the first time I faced him in real life was in the USA tour. I was impressed. I was really impressed with how fast he is, how he has a nice height, how comfortable he is on the ball.
“I think he is a very good player. I hope for him that he’s going to show that at Villa. Of course, I’m not hoping that he’s going to do this tomorrow.”
Slot believes Rashford will make a success of his time at Villa, who were one of the eight sides along with Liverpool to qualify automatically for the Champions League last 16.
“I would be completely surprised if a player of that quality is not going to show this in the upcoming months, because he is a very good player,” the Dutchman said.
He added on Villa: “When you get the fixture list, you know that Villa away can always be one of the tougher ones.”
