After massive speculation that lasted the entire summer window, Martial is now ready to stay put and put in an effort to prove his worth at the club.
Ever since the second half of last season, there was a visible drop in Anthony Martial’s form at Manchester United. Subsequently, that led to manager Jose Mourinho to drop him from his starting-XI and only start about two games in the last ten. Those missed games instead resulted in him not going with France to the World Cup.
Naturally, one thing leading to another meant that Martial’s agent, Philippe Lamboley, had at the beginning of the transfer window declared that his client wants to leave Manchester United. However, now there has been a U-turn in events with The Sun reporting that Martial is ready to stay put and is highly determined to fight for his place at the club.
That may not be surprising to many, as it is understood that Martial did not want to leave the Premier League for any other league across Europe. Bayern Munich were thought to be interested in the Frenchman, but so far nothing has happened on that front.
As for the interest from the Premier League, Tottenham and Chelsea were the ones who were thought to be keen on bringing him into their ranks. Numerous possibilities developed during this time, including swap deals with Tottenham which United rejected involving Toby Alderweireld and the same with Chelsea including Willian.
There were also reports that Manchester United, in light of his agent’s remarks had placed a £100 million price tag on the Frenchman, something that was also a factor in him not moving about to another club. Tottenham, due to their financial constraints, could not afford that and Chelsea were all too reluctant to part with that kind of money.
In the end, without much prospect, Martial has been left with no choice but to stay put with United. The European transfer market still has a few days before it shuts down, and Martial could have some opportunities to go abroad.
Whatever Martial could now want may not resonate with Jose Mourinho and it remains to be seen of the manager gives the player the importance he is craving for. There are other candidates to take his place, with Alexis Sanchez, Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford all capable of playing in Martial’s position.
Although when given a start last weekend against Brighton, Martial failed to deliver. If Martial is to remain faithful to his target of winning his place back with some of his best football, the move will only improve and benefit Manchester United, but there is a whole season left to be the judge of that.
