Anthony Martial has been pushed to the fringes of the Manchester United first team after failing to sufficiently impress manager José Mourinho in the first half of the season.Martial was signed by Louis Van Gaal for a fee of £36 million, which could potentially raise to more than £50 million depending on performances, in the summer of 2015. Branded as the next Thierry Henry due to a similar style of play, Martial had a decent first season in the Premier League.
He made 49 appearances in all competitions and scored 17 goals. More importantly, some of those goals showed the kind of brilliance demonstrated by the true greats like Henry.
Yet, he has now played only 11 league matches this season and has scored one goal. These figures have undoubtedly cost him a place in the starting line-up. The 21-year-old also does not seem to complete full 90 minutes of action.The last time he enjoyed a 90-minute runout was on November 3 against Fenerbahce.
Surprise transfer rumours had seen him linked with Sevilla a few days ago. Now, his agent has confirmed that there is a real interest from the Spanish club, who are ready to take the player on a loan deal until the end of the season. It is highly likely that the three-time Europa League winners will be looking to insert a clause to sign the Frenchman on a permanent basis in the summer. Martial’s agent said (Via Sky Sports):
“We are studying the Sevilla option in detail. Sevilla are a very good club, are in a good position in La Liga, play in the Champions League and have a great coach. That’s all I can tell you.”
Jose Mourinho recently stated that it was tough giving Martial a regular runout in the first team due to the intense competition in his position. Wayne Rooney, Jesse Lingard, Marcus Rashford, and Juan Mata are some of the players fighting for Martial’s position.
Despite the words of the agent, it is reported that United are not even considering the possibility of letting the player leave in January. Even though United are scoring goals for fun and winning games with relative ease at the moment, Mourinho is aware that United will need a lot of strength in depth especially with the Europa League campaign resuming in mid-February.
The former Monaco forward has never been a prolific goal scorer, but it remains to be seen if he can become one in the second half of the campaign.
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