Bharath Rammr
Anthony Martial raised a lot of eyebrows when he made a £36 million move to Manchester United last summer. The Frenchman clearly had a lot of talent, but he was still unproven as a regular goal scorer. It prompted United to insert several performance-related bonuses as part of the deal that took him to Old Trafford. It was revealed that the entire cost for the striker could balloon to up to £58 million depending on the future performances of the player.
Manchester United are now on the brink of preparing a £8 million transfer fee to Monaco as part of the agreement, reports Mirror.
The Red Devils agreed to pay this figure when the player reaches the landmark of 25 goals for Manchester United. The club would have liked to see the player hit this tally in his first season, but it was not the case. Martial has not settled at United and the recent managerial change that brought in Jose Mourinho has not helped matters either.
The striker has been in and out of the United team since the appointment of Mourinho. This staggered presence in the first team has resulted in the period getting just one goal in 385 minutes of Premier league action. Martial has also not been helped by being played on the wings more often than not. Former boss Louis Van Gaal also did not prefer using the striker in a central position. He may be playing on a role similar to Thierry Henry, but he is nowhere near the iconic Frenchman.
United reportedly agreed three bonuses as part of the package to bring him to Old Trafford. All these bonuses will expire on June 2019. Now that he is extremely close to hitting the first bonus, United will also have one eye on the next two bonuses – making 25 appearances for France and winning the FIFA Ballon d’Or award. It is fair to say that the striker is nowhere near enough to completing the latter, but there is a strong possibility of Martial becoming a French first-team player.
The only issue hampering the 20-year-old is the lack of regular game time at United. If he manages to get regular first-team football, he may be able to persuade French national team boss Didier Deschamps that he receives a call-up ahead of Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema.
Since making his debut for France in 2015, Martial has managed only one goal in 15 appearances. This dismal record is unlikely to see him feature for the national team anytime soon. A big chunk of his 15 appearances (9) came in 2016. At this rate, he may just about be able to hit the tally of 25 national team appearances to invoke another £8 million bill for United.
