Sevilla director explains to ten Hag exactly why Martial failed loan spell

Injuries are apparently the prime reason for why Manchester United star Anthony Martial failed his loan spell at Sevilla, a club director has revealed.

The Frenchman joined the Spanish outfit on-loan for the second-half of the 2021/22 campaign after falling down the pecking order at Old Trafford. The switch to the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan was expected to give the former Monaco star a chance to kick-start his career following an underwhelming few seasons.

However, the 26-year-old only made 12 appearances for Sevilla over five months - his only goal coming in the Europa League against Dinamo Zagreb. However, the La Liga side's general manager and secretary of the board of directors, José María Cruz de Andrés, has put Martial's struggles down to a lack of fitness throughout his stint at the club.

Speaking with Sport Witness, he said: "I believe that problem with Anthony Martial was when he was starting to adapt to the coach, to his system, he suffered some injuries. He was unable to have the continuity that he needed.

"I believe he was very happy and he thought it was a good opportunity for him [to join Sevilla on loan]. The injuries have been a problem for Martial. I believe he has enjoyed playing with us I can imagine Anthony Martial has found that Sevilla would be a good club for him to have a new opportunity."

Following the conclusion of his loan spell in Spain, Martial is now set for a return to Man Utd and is in line for a fight to earn his place back in the first-team. Ever since his big-money arrival from Monaco back in 2015, he has only hit double figures in Premier League goals on three occasions - his most prolific campaign being the 2019/2020 season where he struck 17 times in the league.

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New boss Erik ten Hag is set to start work with the players on June 27 and will then make decisions over who we would like to keep or indeed sell. Martial is highly likely to be one of those who a decision could be made on.

He has just two years remaining on his current Red Devils' deal so a sale would likely be a priority this summer should the club want to recoup a significant amount for his signature. Martial though has already hinted that he has already hinted that he has planned for a return to Old Trafford in the near future.

Speaking to ABC Sevilla, he said: "I see it very complicated to be able to continue at Sevilla. I'm not worried about that right now. I came knowing that it would be six months and then I would surely have to return to Manchester United.

"I'm very happy with the experience of playing in a new club, as big as Sevilla and having minutes again. If we manage to be a top four team, we will have achieved the goal and I will be happy for the fans, who have been very good to me since I arrived."