Julen Lopetegui has slammed Anthony Martial after his debut with Sevilla after the winger moved to Spain after rejecting both Newcastle United and Tottenham.
Speaking to the press via Goal, the La Liga manager didn’t hold back on the French international, who made his first appearance for the Spanish giants after signing for the club from Manchester United on loan.
As reported by Fabrizio Romano, Newcastle and Tottenham were both interested in taking Martial off United’s hands, however, the 26-year-old turned down a move to a rival Premier League club in favour of a transfer abroad.
With United spending £58m to sign Martial from AS Monaco back in 2013 according to BBC Sport, the Manchester giants are set to cut their losses on the former Ligue 1 star, who is likely to leave for good in the summer transfer window.
Indeed, Newcastle and Tottenham will be unlikely to sign the winger given his previous rejections, yet Sevilla manager Lopetegui was hardly impressed with what he saw from Martial on his debut this weekend.
The former Real Madrid boss said: “Clearly he has to give us more. It was his first game, it’s not easy to adapt. He comes with a bit of baggage because he’s hardly played this season. Bit by bit he has to get up to speed, I’m sure he’ll get there.”
Sevilla loan bust could help Newcastle or Tottenham to sign Martial
After a season of next-to-no football, it’s not too surprising to see Martial struggle in his first start for Sevilla. However, Lopetegui’s comments could well hint that this loan move might not go as swimmingly as many predicted.
Moreover, if Martial continues to struggle with Sevilla, it could offer Newcastle or Tottenham the opportunity to once again go in for the United winger, who the Red Devils will no doubt want to offload for good in the summer.
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