Martial cleared to make Man Utd exit – but on one condition
Anthony Martial has reportedly been told he will be allowed to leave Manchester United this summer – but only if he leaves Old Trafford to move abroad and not to a Premier League rival.
The France winger became the most expensive teenager in world football when he joined United in a £58million switch from Monaco in 2015 – with a leaked document outlining exactly what he could eventually end up costing the club.
It initially looked to be money well spent, but Martial has since seen his progress slowed up and a frustrating season has seen him slip behind Alexis Sanchez and Marcus Rashford in the Manchester United reckoning.
The player has been strongly linked with Tottenham and Arsenal – to whom the player wanted to talk to in January – while Chelsea have also emerged as suitors with a possible swap deal on the cards.
However, it appears to be Juventus in the driving seat to sign the unhappy winger – with Jose Mourinho keen to grant him his exit wish, but on one condition.
According to Tuttosport, Mourinho has told the France attacker and his agent that he if he wants to make an exit this summer, he will only be allowed to do so for overseas.
It’s suggested Mourinho is wary of the stick he has had in recent months over the form of Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah – two players he allowed to leave Chelsea – and wants to avoid Martial having a similar resurgence while in the same country.
Mourinho discussed Martial’s lack of game time recently, saying he can only pick 11 players at one time and no one at Manchester United can be certain of a starting spot.
The Portuguese coach said: “If I was you, I would go, ‘Why (Romelu) Lukaku plays every match?’, ‘Why (Nemanja) Matic plays every match?’ You always go to the one (that does not play).
“If you want what I call dry answers, I have dry answers – and a dry answer is only 11 can start the match and we have 22.”
One stumbling block to the player’s potential exit, however, could be Ed Woodward, who is said to be a huge admirer of the player.
However, Martial’s unhappiness and his lack of game time appear to suggest his three-year stay at Old Trafford could be coming to an end.
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