Barcelona have reportedly been told to fork out €30 million to secure the services of Manchester United forward Anthony Martial.
According to a report by Catalan outlet El Nacional, Barcelona know how much they will need to cough up to prise Anthony Martial away from Manchester United. The Premier League giants are demanding €30 million to let go of the French forward, who is eager to join the Blaugrana.
Anthony Martial joined Manchester United from AS Monaco in September 2015 and made an immediate impact at the club. His debut was one to behold, as he scored the winner against bitter rivals Liverpool before going on to finish his maiden campaign as the club’s top scorer. However, the 26-year-old has since blown hot and cold at an alarming rate.
His form has been on the wane after finishing as Manchester United’s top scorer in the 2019/20 season. And this term, Martial has done completely out of favour, managing only 359 minutes of game-time while scoring one goal in ten games. The drop in his levels has prompted Manchester United to consider his sale, with Barcelona among his prospective suitors.
The interest from Barcelona is understandable, considering Xavi does not have a recognised striker at his disposal due to Sergio Aguero’s unavailability. The Argentine international is sidelined for an indefinite period due to a heart condition that will require specific treatment for months.
With Luuk de Jong failing to impress one bit since arriving on loan from Sevilla and Martin Braithwaite only being a backup option at best, Barcelona cannot afford to go into the second half of the season without signing a striker. To that end, Martial is a viable target for the Blaugrana, whose priority target has been Ferran Torres in recent weeks.
However, Torres’s price tag is proving too prohibitive for Barcelona’s liking, which is why the Catalan giants have now turned their attention towards Martial. Manchester United’s asking price of €30 million is a sum that Barcelona can afford, making the Frenchman an even more appealing target.
However, the final call rests with Xavi, and if he green lights the operation, Martial, who is in favour of joining Barcelona, could be on his way to Camp Nou in the January transfer window. It will be intriguing to see how this story develops in the coming weeks.
