Aston Villa have officially signed Marcus Rashford on loan from Manchester United until the end of the season, with an option to buy for £40 million.

The 27-year-old England forward, who had been linked with several clubs, said on Instagram that Villa was an “easy decision” due to their style of play and Unai Emery’s ambitions.

“I just want to play football and am excited to get started. I wish everyone at Manchester United all the best for the rest of the season,” Rashford wrote.

Rashford’s move follows his limited playing time this season, including being dropped for the Manchester derby in December, after which he hinted at being “ready for a new challenge.”

Villa are also in advanced talks to sign Marco Asensio on loan from Paris Saint-Germain as Emery looks to bolster his squad.

The club has been active in the January transfer window, adding Andres Garcia from Levante and Donyell Malen from Borussia Dortmund. However, they have also seen Jhon Duran move to Al-Nassr for £71 million and Diego Carlos join Fenerbahce for £8.45 million.

With injuries piling up—Ollie Watkins limped off on Saturday, and Boubacar Kamara has been filling in at centre-back due to Pau Torres and Tyrone Mings’ absences—Villa have been forced into the market to strengthen their squad for a critical second half of the season.

Additionally, 19-year-old defender Kosta Nedeljkovic has joined RB Leipzig on loan for the remainder of the campaign.

Everton delivered a stunning first-half performance to overpower Leicester City 4-0 at Goodison Park, moving 10 points clear of the relegation zone and deepening the Foxes’ struggles near the bottom of the Premier League table.

The Toffees made a dream start with Abdoulaye Doucoure netting after just 10.18 seconds—Everton’s fastest-ever goal and the fourth quickest in Premier League history. The midfielder capitalized on a long punt from goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, finishing coolly past Mads Hermansen.

Leicester’s defensive woes continued moments later when Beto ran onto James Tarkowski’s through ball and calmly slotted home, doubling Everton’s advantage within six minutes. The visitors were completely out of sorts, narrowly escaping a third goal when Jake O’Brien’s close-range finish was ruled offside after 20 minutes.

The hosts effectively ended the contest before halftime as James Garner’s precise pass cut through Leicester’s defense, allowing Beto to finish clinically for his second goal of the game.

Everton maintained control after the break, comfortably seeing out the match before adding a fourth in the closing stages. Iliman Ndiaye completed the rout with a composed finish, securing a third consecutive victory for the Toffees and pushing Leicester closer to the danger zone.

Liverpool surged nine points clear at the top of the Premier League as Mohamed Salah’s clinical double secured a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.

With his brace, Salah moved up to sixth on the all-time Premier League scoring list in the modern era, surpassing Frank Lampard with 178 goals.

The Egyptian forward opened the scoring in the 30th minute, calmly converting a penalty after Lewis Cook was deemed to have clipped Cody Gakpo’s heels in the box.

Despite Liverpool’s lead, Bournemouth—who have already beaten Arsenal and Manchester City this season—came close to equalizing on several occasions.

• Antoine Semenyo struck the post in the first half.
• In the second half, Marcus Tavernier hit the inside of the post, and Justin Kluivert fired the rebound over the bar.
• Alisson made a vital save to deny Semenyo’s powerful effort.

After Bournemouth’s near-misses, Salah put the game beyond doubt with a stunning curled finish, securing all three points for the Reds.

Liverpool now sit comfortably on 56 points from 23 matches. However, their lead could be trimmed back to six points if Arsenal defeat Manchester City on Sunday.