Anthony Martial is currently on the fringes of manager Jose Mourinho’s first-team having struggled to recapture his fine form from his first season at Old Trafford, when he top scored for United with 17 goals.
Spanish club Sevilla are the surprise title challengers in La Liga and want Martial’s firepower to take them to the next level. Reports claim that the Red Devils have no intention of letting Martial leave Old Trafford though, with the Frenchman needed for back-up. But the Red Devils could struggle to keep him in January, with Martial open to playing abroad for the remainder of the campaign.
Martial has already revealed his frustration at playing second-fiddle to the likes of Marcus Rashford, admitting earlier in December. The 21-year-old has scored just four times this campaign and Mourinho has advised him to follow the example set by previously out-of-favour midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan in order to force his way back into the starting line-up.
The attacker was signed for an initial fee of £36m and he became the most expensive teenager in football history when he joined United from Monaco in September 2015. He made an instant impact for United, scoring a superb solo goal on his debut in a 3-1 victory over rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford. Martial continued to impress during his debut season in England and helped United win the FA Cup in May – their first major trophy in three years – with a 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace at Wembley.
Here are a round of Twitter reactions on Martial’s reported rumors on his move to Sevilla :
Right after Mourinho said Martial has to follow Mkhitaryan’s path and improve, his agent comes out and cries Sevilla in front of media.
— SemperFiUnited (@SemperFiUnited) December 28, 2016
Jose managing Martial like he has managed Mkhitaryan. Have no fear whatsoever on that front. They had Mkhi sold for us as well.
— Anna_MUFC (@mufc_anna) December 28, 2016
Beg Martial stays in the prem, he’s class
— jamie (@jwils04) December 28, 2016
Look at the difference in attitude between Mkhitaryan and Martial. Be a shame if he throws his toys out of the pram and leaves
— stephen arnfield (@stephenarnfield) December 28, 2016
We’d be mental to let martial go on loan now. It’s not like we have an amazing option on the left keeping him out of the team.
— forever united (@sylivestermwak1) December 28, 2016
Silly season has started. Why would we let Martial go? The lad is fantastic, we saw what a difference he made on Monday.
— Ash (@DesignerAsh87) December 28, 2016
United would be so stupid to get rid of Martial, he’s one for the future
— Alice (@AlicePlez16) December 28, 2016
Martial is someone who looks like his aim is Madrid. But he has a long long way to go.
— Tejas Nihalani (@tejasnihalani11) December 28, 2016
Lingard played well against West Brom, Sunderland and Palace (?). What’s the problem? We have a big squad, Martial won’t start every game
— Rodney (@Yaga_yawww) December 28, 2016
United fans ignoring the fact that Mourinho is ruining Martial and Rashford’s United careers just because they’ve won 4 consecutive games.
— El Patron (@BeIgianMaestro) December 28, 2016