BREAKING NEWS: Martial seals Man Utd exit with Sevilla loan

Anthony Martial will play the remainder of the 2021-22 season on loan in LaLiga with Sevilla after falling out of favour at Manchester United.

France international Martial has reportedly taken a pay cut to join the Andalusian club, who it is said will pay €6million for salary and a loan fee combined.

United interim boss Ralf Rangnick revealed last month that Martial had asked to leave the club in January after struggling for first-team football following a return from injury.

Rangnick then claimed in the wake of United’s 2-2 Premier League draw with Aston Villa that Martial was not with the squad because he “didn’t want” to be involved – the forward refuted those claims.

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.

Signed, sealed and delivered.  pic.twitter.com/RBhxAiqchX

— Sevilla FC (@SevillaFC_ENG) January 25, 2022

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.