Anthony Martial, who played a key role in Manchester United's late winner against West Ham at Old Trafford on Saturday, had asked to leave the club this month in search of more game time; Sevilla initially had a loan offer rejected but have now completed the deal
Wednesday 26 January 2022 06:09, UK
Sevilla have completed the signing of Anthony Martial on loan from Manchester United.
The 26-year-old joins the La Liga side - who will pay his wages in full - until the end of the season. There is no loan fee involved.
Martial flew from Paris to Seville on Tuesday to undergo a medical.
The forward always wanted to join Sevilla this month, despite interest from Juventus and Barcelona, because he believes that is where he will play the most.
Sky Sports News exclusively broke the news in December Martial wanted to leave United in search of more game time.
Martial became the world's most expensive teenager when he joined United from Monaco in 2015 and went on to score 79 times in 269 appearances for the club.
But he fell out of favour in the forward positions following the signings of Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho in the summer, as well as the emergence of Mason Greenwood.
Martial has started just four games for United this season, and was accused by Ralf Rangnick, the club's interim manager, of asking not to play in the 2-2 draw at Aston Villa on January 15.
The France international refuted his manager's claim, and Rangnick later insisted the situation was "resolved".
Following Saturday's 2-2 draw at home to Celta Vigo, Sevilla are second in La Liga and just four points behind Real Madrid as they search for their first title since 1946.
European football expert Tom Williams spoke to the Transfer Talk podcast last week about why Martial has been unable to hold down a first-team place at Old Trafford, and revealed which two team-mates he thinks have been holding back the forward...
"There are various reasons for him not having hit the heights that United would have hoped. There's been a lot of instability since he came to the club. He's played under four different managers, not all of whom have been his biggest fans - you think notoriously of Jose Mourinho.
"He's had injury problems. There's debate about his best position - is he best on the left or is he best through the middle?
"There's obviously competition for places at United. I think one of the things that perhaps gets overlooked a bit is how unfortunate Marcus Rashford's emergence has been for Martial, because they're such similar players. But also you've got Mason Greenwood, you've got (Edinson) Cavani and now Cristiano Ronaldo.
"But ultimately you're just not sure how much he wants it. I'm always loathed to judge players on their body language but he's a maddening player to watch, particularly given the amount of ability he has. He's so inconsistent.
"When they came out of lockdown and finished the 2019/20 season, Martial was one of the absolute stars. But last season was a bit of a write-off and now he's out of the picture.
"He obviously needs to move. Ronaldo arriving was probably the death knell for his United career as the first-choice centre-forward. You suspect that, for both parties, the best thing is for him to move on."
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Who will be on the move in January?
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