Thomas Hein
Anthony Martial could remain at Manchester United this season, according to the Mirror.
The Frenchman has returned to training with the Red Devils after leaving them for the birth of his child. Jose Mourinho was unhappy with Martial because of this but the former Monaco man has been included for United’s final pre-season match against Bayern Munich.
The report also claims that Mourinho had also fined Martial two weeks’ wages for not returning in time despite being given clearance to leave the tour of the US.
However, United do not want to sell the Frenchman unless they can get a replacement for the 22-year-old striker. The report adds that United’s moves to sign Ivan Perisic of Inter Milan and Willian of Chelsea have stalled.
Manchester United had also thought of a swap deal involving Willian and Martial. However, the report claims that the management was not supportive of the deal. They did not see any value in swapping a 22-year-old for an attacker who is close to 30.
The report also claims that United will only be looking to sell their French attacker to a team outside the Premier League. But their asking price of £80million has driven away teams from outside the country.
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Martial’s agent had earlier stated that the player would be looking to leave Old Trafford this season (h/t Guardian). However, it seems like the Frenchman will remain a United player unless something drastic happens in the final days of the transfer window.
