Watkins says Rashford has surprised him most in England World Cup training

Ollie Watkins has named Marcus Rashford as the player who has surprised him most in England training, offering a glowing assessment of the Manchester United forward ahead of the 2025 World Cup in North America.

Speaking on Rio Ferdinand’s YouTube channel, Watkins recalled watching Rashford dominate rondo drills in camp. “Rashy is… like, in a rondo as well. Like, sometimes I’m on the outside, and he does something over there, and he’s sending me, and I’m not even in the middle. So I would say him,” Watkins said.

The Villa striker also reflected on their spell together at Aston Villa during the second half of the 2024/25 season, when United sent Rashford to Villa Park on loan. Rashford scored four goals and contributed six assists in 17 appearances, most memorably tearing Paris Saint-Germain apart in the Champions League quarter-final and helping Villa reach the FA Cup semi-final.

“There was times where I was on the bench, and he was keeping me out of the team, and I was frustrated — not because of him, I just wanted to play, but I could understand it,” Watkins said. “The PSG game, he absolutely ripped them apart. And I’m on the sideline thinking, I shouldn’t come on there, really.”

Despite his strong form at Villa, Unai Emery’s side chose not to sign Rashford permanently. The 28-year-old instead joined Barcelona on loan, where he flourished in La Liga, registering 14 goals and 14 assists in 49 appearances. Barcelona hold a £26 million option to buy him outright, though a final decision on his long-term future has yet to be made.

That form was enough to earn Rashford a place in Gareth Southgate’s successor’s England squad for the World Cup, and Watkins left little doubt about the impression he has made. “I can’t speak highly enough of him,” he added.

For Manchester United, Rashford’s resurgence — first at Villa and then at Barcelona — raises pointed questions about why the club allowed him to leave in the first place, having let a player now valued at £26 million depart on a temporary basis rather than rebuilding around him at Old Trafford.