'He is playing free' - Unai Emery explains how he has unlocked in-form Man Utd outcast Marcus Rashford at Aston Villa

Rashford endured a miserable season at Manchester United under previous coach Erik ten Hag and was then dropped from the squad altogether under new boss Ruben Amorim. He opted to abandon Old Trafford for Villa Park in a loan move that includes an option for the Birmingham club to buy him outright in the summer.

Villa may have already decided to pull the trigger on that option, with Rashford flying under Emery. He has scored three times and set up a further four goals in just 12 games for a team competing for a top-four finish in the Premier League, through to the semi-finals of the FA Cup and still competing in the Champions League.

The 27-year-old will hope to play a key role when they face Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of the quarter-final tie on Wednesday and Emery has explained what is behind his rejuvenation.

Speaking ahead of Wednesday's game, the Spaniard said: "He is a good guy, he is humble, he is a very good professional player, he is really happy with his team-mates. He has been demanding of himself. I think he is playing free. The first thing is to try and connect with him as a person, then after that to connect with him as a player.

"His process here is getting better as well. He is playing in two different positions, he started as a left winger, now he is playing more as a striker. We want to find how he can exploit his qualities as best as possible with us. This is the process we have, still work to do, still process to do, but the most important is his feeling.

"We are seeing him smiling. It is the best news we can have. I am seeing him happy, I am seeing him committed with everything we are doing."

Villa are on a seven-game winning run heading into the midweek match in Paris and will be looking to pull off a big win against Luis Enrique's team.