Ryan Giggs highlights the one thing Marcus Rashford needs to rediscover during his Aston Villa loan spell as Man United legend insists Old Trafford outcast looks like ‘he has the weight of the world on his shoulders’

Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs has voiced the one thing he believes Marcus Rashford needs to rediscover after leaving the club on loan.  

Rashford, 27, completed a loan move to Aston Villa during the January transfer window after falling out of favour under current manager Ruben Amorim at United. 

However, Giggs has now hinted that Rashford now looks a shadow of his former self, noting that he he ‘has the weight of the world on his shoulders’. 

The Welshman, who holds the record for the most appearances for the Red Devils, with 963, was part of the club’s coaching staff when Rashford burst onto the scene as a 17-year-old academy graduate. 

However, he has endured a difficult period under Amorim, since the Portuguese manager replaced Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford back in November. 

After being deemed surplus to requirements in Manchester, Rashford is able to start afresh following his move to Villa Park.

With the deal complete, Giggs has called on the forward to rediscover the spark that enabled him to hit the ground running at United as a youngster.  

Giggs, 51, said: ‘Everyone will remember that smile and that enjoyment and freedom when he first came through – but he doesn’t look like that now.

‘He’s a human being and he just doesn’t look happy. He looks like he’s got the world on his shoulders.

‘He needs to play with that freedom and enjoyment that got him to where he is now.’

Rashford could be in contention for his Villa debut on Sunday, when Unai Emery’s side face Tottenham Hotspur in the fifth round of the FA Cup. 

He is eligible to feature for the Villains in the competition, having not played for United since December. 

But Giggs added that he thinks it is about more than simply getting minutes on the pitch if Rashford is to find form once again. 

He continued: ‘United need young players coming through, one of their own and it just felt that he was the next one.

‘But for whatever reason, he’s had a decent career but he’s never gone on to be what I thought he would be.

‘More so than anything, he’s a human being and he just doesn’t look happy.

‘He looks like he’s got the world on his shoulders.

‘And I don’t know why, because the lad who I saw and who I coached didn’t have the world on his shoulders.

‘He just played with freedom, he loved the club and was a great lad but he just doesn’t look it now.’