Marcus Rashford insists Edinson Cavani will prove a valuable addition for Manchester United after the veteran Uruguay striker swapped life on the farm for the Old Trafford spotlight.

Cavani signed a two-year contract worth £210,000-per-week ($271,000) on transfer deadline day.

The 33-year-old missed Saturday’s 4-1 victory at Newcastle – United’s first match since his signing – after going into quarantine for 14 days following his arrival in England.

He was not part of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s squad for their Champions League group game against his former club Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday.

But when Cavani is finally available, he is sure to find himself the centre of attention.

Cavani scored 200 goals in seven years with PSG, but he left the Ligue 1 champions in June after a contract dispute, missing their run to the Champions League final.

His age and lack of recent action – he hasn’t played since PSG’s Champions League win over Borussia Dortmund in March – prompted some United fans to label Cavani a panic buy after their failure to land Borussia Dortmund forward Jadon Sancho.

Cavani spent the last few months shearing sheep on his farm back home in Uruguay and indulging his unlikely passion for ballet – even featuring in an advert for a Montevideo dance school.

But, while he relishes his quiet life away from football and could easily have slipped into retirement, Cavani’s love affair with the game was strong enough to persuade him to accept a new challenge with United, regardless of what the critics say.

“I had a lot of different opportunities, I was excited to play in the Premier League and even more so for Manchester United,” Cavani said.

“I am very motivated because I always want to play as much as possible, work, train and give the best of myself.”