Could Anthony Martial Launch A Comeback At Manchester United?

It was just after an hour of Sevilla’s Europa League game against Dinamo Zagreb on Thursday night that the 28,000 fans at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan stadium stood as one to applaud Anthony Martial when he was substituted.

The French striker, on loan from Manchester United for the rest of the season, had just played a leading role in Sevilla’s 3-1 win over the Croatians in the first leg of their play-off tie, scoring once, and being involved in the other two goals.

After a frustrating eighteen months at Old Trafford, Martial now has a new stage and is enjoying reminding the football world about his talent. 

He looked lively throughout his 61 minutes on the pitch against Zagreb, linking play well, and offering a constant threat in front of goal.

He had started in the central striker’s role, but would play all across the front three; coming short to receive the ball from the midfield, showing constant commitment and energy, and making dangerous runs at the Zagreb defence.

It was after thirteen minutes that Martial found space to unleash a shot the Zagreb keeper Dominik Livakovic could only parry straight at Papu Gomez, who he then brought down to concede a penalty. Ivan Rakitic stepped up to convert the spot-kick and give Sevilla the lead.

The Spaniards doubled their lead a minute before half-time when Martial shielded the ball in the corner, before starting a move that led to Lucas Ocampos scoring with a deflected volley.

A minute later Martial collected the ball from Gomez on the right side of the area before calmly guiding the ball past Livakovic to register his first goal for Sevilla

This was Martial’s third and most impressive appearance for the Spanish side, after a quiet debut in a 0-0 draw against Osasuna, and providing an assist in a 2-0 win over Elche last week.

Martial’s performance in the Europa League had echoes of his very best for United, and provoked the obvious question about whether he could use his stay in Seville to relaunch his career at Old Trafford next season.

Martial is a player who needs to be loved, and made to feel wanted, which hasn’t been the case at United over the last eighteen months.

But in the south of Spain he appears to finally have that again, which can be seen in his increasingly confident performances.

It is the reason Martial pushed so hard to come to Sevilla, despite interest from Barcelona and Juventus, because he was so impressed with how much they wanted him. It thrilled him to be treated as the main man again.

“In these two weeks he’s been here, what I see is happiness,” the revered Sevilla Sporting Director Monchi has said. “When a player has the technical, tactical, physical qualities, what you have to do is touch the perfect spot for these qualities to reappear.”

“And we think we’re capable of finding this spot. Possibly it could mean more affection, more support, more trust; speaking more to him, for his family to feel settled, for him to feel important. There’s not one model for every player, everyone has their needs.”

Martial had been desperate to leave Manchester, after losing the trust of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and having no interest in trying to earn it from United’s new interim manager Ralf Rangnick. He simply wanted to go somewhere he could play.

He would be reluctant to return to United, but while he has a contract there that runs until the summer of 2024, that will not be his choice.

It will hinge on the opinion of whoever United appoint as their new manager this summer, and if Martial, who is still only 26, continues to impress at Sevilla, they could offer him another chance at Old Trafford.