Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has reportedly warned Inter Milan that Anthony Martial will not leave Old Trafford this summer.
According to a report by The Sun, Jose Mourinho has issued a strict warning to Inter Milan to avoid using Anthony Martial as a bargaining chip for the Ivan Perisic deal, as the Frenchman will not leave Old Trafford this summer.
Martial was part of the squad Jose Mourinho inherited from Louis van Gaal when he took over as the Manchester United manager last season. While the striker cost the club in excess of £40 million, he was a disappointment of sorts last season.
Arguably, Martial did play out wide more often than not but then he also made his name while playing in the exact same position for Monaco. At United, however, he has not been able to perform at his best and that was even more evident this past season.
As bigger attacking stars like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan joined the squad, Martial was pushed down the pecking order. The rise of the Marcus Rashford also ensured that Martial had to force himself to occupy the back seat. And even when he did play, he failed to perform for large parts of the campaign.
However, things seem to have changed now. Ibrahimovic is no longer a part of the club while United have failed to land deals for Antoine Griezmann and, incidentally, Ivan Perisic. The pre-season games also saw a different side of Martial on field and it is believed that he is close to becoming a player who can thrive under Mourinho.
In fact, Martial has impressed on more than one occasion during the summer, including games against Real Madrid and Valerenga. The pre-season game against Sampdoria, especially in the second half, saw Martial flourish as he stood out with his performance when compared to the other players.
He took a while to settle in but once he did, he looked unstoppable. Martial was also responsible for orchestrating the second goal for United, thus playing a crucial hand in setting up the victory.
Martial’s delightful resurgence can provide Mourinho with a better variety of options up front. Although Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford are different from Martial in terms of style, all three of them can be equally lethal, and it looks like Mourinho is set to keep faith in the Frenchman.