Former Manchester United defender Wes Brown has called on his former club to try a swap deal involving Marcus Rashford and Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins.

Rashford is facing an uncertain future at Old Trafford after going to Villa on loan back in January, having fallen out of favour with Man Utd manager Ruben Amorim in the months building up to that.

The England international had a decent spell at Villa Park, so it might be that Unai Emery would be keen to keep him.

Nothing has been decided yet, though, and ex-Red Devil Brown has suggested his old club should try negotiating a deal that would see Rashford and Watkins swap places.

Could Manchester United sign Ollie Watkins?

Ollie Watkins and Marcus Rashford celebrate for Aston Villa (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

Watkins has impressed at Villa, reaching double figures for goals in five consecutive seasons, while he also has five goals from 18 appearances for England.

Arsenal had a bid rejected for Watkins back in January, as reported by Sky Sports at the time, so it’s clear he’s viewed as someone who could make the step up to a bigger club.

The 29-year-old is quick, good with both feet, and a clinical finisher, so even if he’s not the youngest, he could make sense as a good short-term option for United.

Man United advised to try swap deal

Discussing the prospect of Watkins and Rashford swapping places, Brown told Boyle Sports, as quoted by the Metro: “Delap would’ve been a good player for United, but I’d go for experience. Manchester United need a striker and Ollie Watkins has shown us that he can do that in the Premier League.

“Would Aston Villa swap Watkins for Marcus Rashford? I’m not sure because they still trust Watkins and would need to find a big replacement.

“They would want a striker who can get 20 goals and those are hard to come by. Look at United and how Rasmus Hojlund has struggled, but a striker like Watkins would be perfect for United.”