Anthony Martial threw his future at Manchester United into doubt after his agent Philipe Lamboley revealed to the French press that his client wishes to leave Old Trafford. The Frenchman, signed from AS Monaco on transfer deadline day in 2015, fell out-of-favour with Jose Mourinho after United signed Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez in January of this year, and the Chilean’s transfer limited opportunities for both Martial and Marcus Rashford. The form of Jesse Lingard has also meant a reduced number of starts for both players, and it seems as if Martial wishes to exit Manchester as a result.
All of the noises coming out of the club appear to be that United are not willing to sell the player, however, and there’s a chance that Martial could see his contract extended beyond its fourth year. Whether that would be to protect the player’s value, or an opportunity to increase the transfer fee they’d receive remains to be seen, but given the player’s wishes, United and Mourinho clearly have their work cut out to convince the player to change this mind. Given the Portuguese’s hesitancy to start Martial more often, it’s fair to suggest that he isn’t minded to, either.
Indeed, The Mirror are reporting that despite interest from Juventus and Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur, the only way that Martial would be allowed to leave the club is if the transfer fee received for his services was immediately used to sign a replacement. Essentially, United would want a ready-made alternative ready to be brought into the club before they would even countenance a sale, which is a smart strategy. However, at the moment, there are little more than rumours to suggest that theThe reported £50m asking price could prove to much for several European giants, and United’s resistance to negotiating with Spurs about a swap including Toby Alderweireld seems to rule out the possibility that the North London club would be a potential destination.
Still, with much of the summer still left, there’s time for plenty more twists and turns in this saga.
