Manchester United
Premier League • England
Both Mourinho and Solskjaer wanted to sell Man Utd star who’s causing Rangnick major headache
Both Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reportedly wanted to get rid of Manchester United misfit Anthony Martial, as Ralf Rangnick sees his own issues with the striker emerge.
The France forward is currently making headlines for all the wrong reasons and was forced to come out and defend himself after Rangnick claimed that Martial didn’t want to be involved in the matchday squad for the draw with Aston Villa on Saturday evening.
The agent of the 26-year-old admitted last month that his client wanted a move for more game time. Indeed, the former Monaco man has scored just once in 10 appearances in all competitions this season.
Martial, who still has more than three years left on his contract, is expected to be sold or loaned out – depending on what works out better for the club or player.
But according to reports in The Times and The Athletic, both Mourinho and Solskjaer wanted the attacker out of the club prior to this latest episode.
Martial has failed to live up to the huge promise he showed early in his Old Trafford career.
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He joined in 2015 for a world-record fee for a teenager of £36million, potentially rising to £58m. However, he has scored just 79 goals in 268 games for the club – with the 2019-20 a standout year when he notched 23 times and was handed a bumper new contract.
Martial has also suffered from numerous managers playing him in different attacking positions. While that certainly hasn’t helped his cause, the feeling now is he needs a move to rekindle his career.
United set lofty Phil Jones price
Meanwhile, Manchester United have priced themselves out of a transfer with their steep demand for out-of-favour star Phil Jones, a report has claimed.
Although Jones was solid on his return to the Red Devils side in their recent defeat to Wolves, he is unlikely to play a part in the club’s plans going forward. He wants regular game time, so an exit from Old Trafford is on the cards.
However, he may not get his wish granted. That is because United are not listening to offers of less than £15million for the 29-year-old.
That’s according to the Daily Star, who claim the ‘staggering’ price tag has been placed on him.
Jones has played just one first-team match in last two years. And there are no guarantee he won’t suffer further injury issues.
He has just 18 months left on his contract. There is the option to extend that for a further year, though.
Premier League side Burnley are interested in offering him a chance. But the notoriously tight spenders will not stretch to that amount of money.
The defender is also currently being paid £100k a week so would have to take a pay cut too.
Newcastle mooted as potential suitors
Newcastle are obviously mentioned as a potential destination for Jones too. The transfer fee and wages would be no problem for them.
But they don’t have him high up on their list of targets. Sevilla’s Diego Carlos is currently their priority.
United, who signed Jones for £16.5m from Blackburn in 2011, now have him in a growing group of frustrated players who want out but aren’t being let go.
Edinson Cavani, Jesse Lingard, Anthony Martial, Donny van de Beek, Dean Henderson – the list is concerning and only getting bigger.
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