Martial to return to Man Utd, Sevilla confirm

FT Desk

• 25 May 2022 08:05 CDT
• 3 min read

Sevilla have confirmed that they will not make Anthony Martial's loan move from Manchester United permanent this summer.

Martial joined Sevilla on loan in January with the six-time Europa League winners making an unlikely assault on the La Liga title.

Julen Lopetegui's side ultimately finished fourth, 16 points behind champions Real Madrid, and Martial didn't make the impact the club had hoped.

FootballTransfers reported in March that Sevilla had no intention to make the deal permanent in any case.

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How much will Man Utd pay to release Martial?

An attacking all-rounder who scored 17 Premier League goals for Man Utd as recently as 2019/20, Martial could only muster one assist in nine league outings with Sevilla and failed to find the target domestically.

"Anthony Martial will return to Man United," said Sevilla president Jose Castro. "We spent important money on him but it didn't work. Also, he had injuries and we're not going to buy him on a permanent deal."

Martial's sole Sevilla strike came against Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League in February, and he will now head back to Old Trafford, where he has a contract which runs until 2024.

Would Martial have been signed otherwise?

As exclusively in March, Sevilla were not in a position to make Martial's loan deal permanent even if he had lit up La Liga.

Rated at €47m by our sophisticated algorithm, Martial would likely have cost nearly twice the €25m they spent on record arrival Jules Kounde from Bordeaux in July 2019.

"Sevilla won't buy Martial even if they win the EuroMillions," a source close to the club told FootballTransfers. "They're happy with him but they won't sign him permanently.

"Any further deal is not in their plans at all - just these six months to help them challenge Real Madrid for the title."

What's next for Martial?

Martial could be given a clean slate this summer, with Erik ten hag arriving in the Old Trafford dugout and the player having previously performed for the Red Devils.

Of course, competition from Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford and others in the final third will be fierce, but he may not be short of suitors.

Paris Saint-Germain, Newcastle, Arsenal and Juventus have all been linked with the 30-time capped France international in recent months, and Martial will be keen to show his attacking return at Sevilla was just a blip.