Jose Mourinho has urged outcast forward Anthony Martial to learn from Manchester United teammate Henrikh Mkhitaryan by forcing his way back into first-team contention.

The 21-year-old has struggled to hold down a place in the Red Devils' starting lineup this term, featuring 11 times in all in the Premier League.

Sevilla have shown an interest in taking Martial on loan in the January transfer window, but Mourinho has hinted that there is a route back into the team for Martial if he can replicate the recent impressive performances of Mkhitaryan, who was himself benched in the opening months of the season.

"Every player is different. I had this season a situation that was more difficult than Anthony - Mkhitaryan," he told SFR Sport. "Mkhitaryan was completely open and completely understood the difference between me and other coaches he had.

"The difference between the demands of the Premier League and the Ukrainian league or even Bundesliga, complete different philosophy of play. And he worked a lot without playing, but he worked a lot to try to reach the level. I think Anthony is very, very young - people forget - and last season Manchester United played completely differently to how we do today.

"He was basically playing up front. The team had lots of passive ball possession, just waiting to put it into space for Anthony to go and score a goal. This season is more difficult. He needs a little bit of time to improve."

Martial has scored four goals in all competitions for United this term, with half of those coming in the 4-1 EFL Cup quarter-final victory over West Ham United last month.