Martial continues to make a mockery of Man Utd with bright start at Sevilla
Stefan Bienkowski
- 18 Feb 2022 08:51 GMT
- 8 min read
One of the biggest transfers during the January window was undoubtedly the departure of Manchester United forward Anthony Martial to join Sevilla on loan.
Signed from Monaco back in 2015 for a remarkable fee of £54 million, Martial was once considered one of Europe’s finest young players.
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However, despite the odd run of form, the young French forward has struggled to realise his potential at Old Trafford and his malaise on and off the pitch has come to characterise Man Utd’s own struggles to get back to the top of English and European football.
And yet, where Martial was once an uncomposed, out-of-form forward, upon his arrival in Spain he has quickly returned to the kind of performances that once made him such a dazzling player to watch.
Martial’s fantastic start at Sevilla
After a promising debut against Osasuna which saw the on-loan talent start and play 77 minutes for his new club, Martial was once again in the starting XI for his second Sevilla match against Elche and quickly settled into the rhythm of Spanish football.
On the 75th minute of the game, the French winger powered down the left wing to latch on to a through ball and swung in a floated left-footed cross towards the Elche penalty box, where a grateful Papu Gomez happily headed it home to make it 2-0 on the night.
Just a few days later, Martial then found himself on the right wing in Sevilla’s Europa League clash against Dinamo Zagreb and performed even better, when he spearheaded a counter attack in the dying moments of the first half to convert a shot from the edge of the box to make it 3-1.
In as little as three games, Martial has already bagged a goal and an assist for Sevilla and certainly looks as though he’ll be more than happy to add to that tally between now and the end of the season.
Could he return to Man Utd?
While there is no clause in Martial’s contract which would allow Sevilla to sign him permanently for a set price, it still remains clear that the French winger has no interest in returning to Man Utd this summer.
Not only did the 24-year-old hand in a transfer request and refuse to take part in the first team matchday squad, but he also underlined why he left Man Utd once he was in Spain.
“My loan move to Sevilla is valid for the next five months until the end of the season but you never know what happens in the future. We’ll see,” said the France international.
“I wanted to join Sevilla because of [transfer chief] Monchi and [coach] Julen Lopetegui. I’m here to play and show what I can do.”
