Arsenal, Barcelona and Newcastle United are all reportedly interested in making a move for wantaway Manchester United forward Anthony Martial.
According to a report from the Mirror, Manchester United striker Anthony Martial is a man in demand heading into the January transfer window as the likes of Arsenal, Barcelona, Newcastle United and Paris Saint-Germain are all interested in his services.
Martial has been with Manchester United since 2015 when he arrived from AS Monaco as the most expensive teenager in football. While the Frenchman began with a bang at Old Trafford, his star has been on a steady decline ever since as he struggled to nail down a place under Jose Mourinho or Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
While the 2019/20 campaign seemed to offer some hope, it only proved to be a false dawn as Martial once again struggled last season and has hardly featured this term. His agent recently clarified that the 26-year-old wants to play regularly and is keen on an exit in January. Manchester United could be ready to sanction one after deciding to give him another shot back in the summer.
The development surrounding Martial’s situation has attracted the interest of several clubs in England and across Europe, with Arsenal, Newcastle United and Barcelona among the clubs keen to secure his services.
Arsenal are in the market for a new centre-forward as both Alexandre Lacazette, and Eddie Nketiah are out of contract at the end of the season. Furthermore, captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has struggled over the past eighteen months and has had disciplinary issues, which could force him out of the Emirates, leaving Mikel Arteta in need of a new goalscorer at the top.
As for Newcastle United, they have been overreliant on Callum Wilson to produce the goods in the final third of the pitch, with Dwight Gayle not favoured and likely to leave on loan while Joelinton has proven to be an unreliable goalscorer. With survival in the Premier League at stake, Eddie Howe & co. need an established forward to bail them out, with Martial emerging as one of the many targets.
Meanwhile, Barcelona are in desperate need of new attacking additions amidst an injury crisis at Camp Nou. Ansu Fati, Martin Braithwaite have been sidelined for lengthy spells, while summer signing Sergio Aguero may not return to the pitch anytime soon after being diagnosed with a heart condition. With Luuk de Jong out of favour under new boss Xavi Hernandez, a new striker is necessary for the Blaugrana.
The La Liga heavyweights have been linked with many options over the past few weeks, with Martial also believed to be on their radars. Recent reports indicated that Barcelona had already made an enquiry for the French international, and Mirror adds that they could push for a loan-to-buy arrangement in January while also insisting that the 26-year-old would be unlikely to turn down the chance to join the Catalans.
All things point towards Martial leaving Manchester United after 79 goals in over 270 appearances. With PSG also in the mix, it will certainly be interesting to see where the ex-AS Monaco starlet ends up moving come January.
Looks like the players that Jose Mourino wanted to get rid of eg Anthony Martial and Paul Pogba are at last on their way out (hooray for that).
I find it incredible that a player under contract (paul pogba) is allowed to live a life elsewhere (supposed treatment) whilst claiming to be injured (perhaps he is). All players should be compelled to attend training sessions (even if unable to participate) at their owners clubs to prevent them taking the mickey!! The ridiculous ongoing saga (which Mr nice guy helped perpetuate) regarding Paul Pogba should have been well and truly sorted during Jose Mourinos reign (which to be fair to him he tried to sell Pogba but was apparently blocked).
I keep seeing that Mr nice guy is a superb man manager (possible so) but he is certainly not a winner. All footballers I have met (even in kids soccer) want to play and want to win – to achieve this discipline, comradeship and footballing skills are needed.