The report adds that Rashford 'would need convincing' to move to Villa Park on loan, as he would prefer to either join Barcelona or stay with his boyhood club United.

But neither of those options look likely for Rashford, with Ruben Amorim making it clear that the forward will not be considered for selection until he improves his performances in training.

The Portuguese coach even suggested he would prefer to select his goalkeeping coach Jorge Vital on the bench rather than a player who isn't giving their best, with an obvious nod to Rashford's exclusion from the squad.

Rashford would represent an important financial investment for Villa, considering his reported £300,000-a-week wages at Old Trafford. It is also not known if United would demand a potential fee to take him on a temporary deal.

Rashford hasn't featured for United in the Premier League since his appearance in the 3-2 defeat against Nottingham Forest, while his last outing of any kind came during their Europa League victory over Viktoria Plzen.

He has also been left out of their last three matchday squads despite being available, indicating that his time at the club could be coming to an end after a 20-year association, 426 appearances and 138 goals.

If Villa are unsuccessful in signing Rashford, Emery has also sounded out late moves for Chelsea attacker Joao Felix and Paris Saint-Germain winger Marco Asensio.

The pair both unhappy with their lack of playing time at their respective clubs and are long-term targets for the Spaniard.

Emery will have funds to spend to bring in another attacker to replace Duran, who is undergoing a medical at Al-Nassr ahead of his £64million switch.

The Colombian, 21, is poised to finalise his switch to the Saudi Arabian outfit - representing the club's second-biggest sale in their history - and Emery is confident he will be backed to find a replacement.

"The club is working and we have to be intelligent in the market," he said earlier this week. "Our objective here is to keep our structure because we want to keep the level high, and maybe we have to sell some players - and I don't know exactly - until everything is done whether or not Jhon Duran is leaving.

"But if he does, it'll be good news for us because it's good money."