Man United’s Anthony Martial has gladly revealed he is happy to play in any position he is required to at Sevilla after struggling to find his right position at Old Trafford, from where he has just departed on loan.
The Frenchman has just joined the La Liga club on a six-month loan deal worth £5million in loan fees to Sevilla, after having struggled for serious game time at Old Trafford this season.
Martial had been having difficulties trying to find a place in a United team filled with many attacking talents, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho, Mason Greenwood, Marcus Rashford and Edinson Cavani – and in particular with both the left wing and striker roles all taken.
But Martial now admits he does not mind where he ends up playing in Sevilla and is most eager to start playing immediately.
‘I’ve spoken with the coach, but the most important thing for me is playing,’ Martial told the Sevilla official website. ‘It doesn’t matter where, so I can do my best and do what the manager wants from me.
‘I’m ready to play. I trained hard to be ready and if the coach wants me to play, I’ll do it now.’
Martial will now compete with Sevilla attackers Rafa Mir and Youssef En-Nesyri for the striker roles in Julen Lopetegui’s squad, while the likes of Erik Lamela, Lucas Ocampos and Papu Gomez are the wide options.
The 26-year-old had informed United he wanted to leave with Sevilla as his first choice despite there being tentative approaches from other clubs such as Newcastle and Tottenham but Martial was keen to go abroad. Juventus and Barcelona had also signified their interests but were not want to take on his salary.
Martial admitted that the deciding factor for him picking Sevilla as his club for the rest of the season was all because of how much they wanted to have him in their team.
‘What convinced me to come is the contact with the sporting director and the coach, they showed me that they wanted me,’ Martial revealed.
‘I wanted to come so I could play and show what I can do in the team. In the last few months I have been training a lot.
‘I hope to be able to train soon with my team-mates and work well with them to fight for the competitions we’re still in.’
Martial could make his debut for Sevilla on the first weekend in February when Lopetegui’s side travel to Osasuna for a LaLiga challenge.
Sevilla went into the winter break four points behind leaders Real Madrid having played the same amount of matches, with 16 rounds of fixtures remaining in the season.