The England international netted twice in Villa’s FA Cup victory over Preston North End, and he carried that momentum into the Premier with a goal in Wednesday’s dominant 3-0 win against Brighton. Rashford’s contributions since joining Villa stand at three goals and four assists, a clear indication of his upturn in form.

Emery is now contemplating a tactical setup that allows both Rashford and Watkins to play together in the attack. Speaking to Sky Sports, Emery said: "Keep going is the message for him. Playing more minutes means he’s getting physically better, he’s scoring more goals. We’re playing him as a striker and trying to compete with Watkins. Maybe going forward we can play them together. Try to exploit his [Rashford’s] qualities. He’s in the best confidence moment. We planned to play him as a striker, and he scored two goals, so I decided to go again and he scored."