Watch out Aston Villa: Premier League club plotting sensational swoop for Marcus Rashford if Unai Emery's side don't sign Man Utd loanee permanently

The England international is spending the second half of the campaign on loan at Villa, with Unai Emery's men having a £40 million ($49m) purchase option in June. Now The Sun claims that Crystal Palace are eyeing a move for the 27-year-old and will closely monitor the forward's situation this summer.

A Sun source said: “Palace are keeping a very close eye on Rashford and what happens with Villa and United. There is a good buzz around the club [Palace] at the moment and someone like Marcus is exactly the kind of player they would love to attract. They know they would have to keep onto their better players to try and persuade Marcus to move to South London.”

Rashford has scored five goals and bagged three assists in 22 games for Villa, a run of form that has seen him recalled to the England setup. But it remains to be seen if Villa will take up the option to sign him permanently, with his Manchester United career likely to be over.

Rashford will next feature for Villa as they try to overturn a 3-1 first leg deficit in the Champions League quarter-finals against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday.