After falling out of favor at Manchester United, Anthony Martial will spend the rest of the season on loan with Sevilla in LaLiga.
France international Martial is said to have taken a pay cut to join the Andalusian club, who will pay €6 million in salary and loan fees.
Last month, interim United manager Ralf Rangnick revealed that Martial had asked to leave the club in January after struggling for first-team football following his return from injury.
Rangnick then claimed following United’s 2-2 Premier League draw with Aston Villa that Martial was not with the squad because he “didn’t want” to play – claims that the forward refuted.
While Rangnick drew a line under the situation, he hinted United were negotiating exits for several players ahead of the transfer deadline, and Sevilla’s tactic of playing the long game has paid off.
LaLiga’s second-placed side were linked with Martial last month, but reports suggested they could not get anywhere near the player’s wage demands, and United were seemingly unwilling to lower their own demands.
But a breakthrough in negotiations has seen the clubs reach an agreement that Sevilla will hope significantly boosts their chances in LaLiga’s title race.
After 22 matches played, Sevilla are just four points behind leaders Real Madrid.
Throughout January, they have been linked with forwards due to injuries and a general lack of goals scored – their 34 in LaLiga is the fewest of those in the top four and 13 behind Madrid’s tally.
Rafa Mir is their top scorer in the league despite a fairly underwhelming total of six in 20 appearances, with the pre-season arrival from Wolves struggling to pick up the slack for Youssef En-Nesyri, who has been absent through injury and Africa Cup of Nations duty.
Sevilla will hope Martial can hit the ground running after the international break, but he may be lacking match sharpness given he has played the full 90 minutes of a game once all season and has played just eight minutes of football since Rangnick’s first match in charge in early December.
