Anthony Martial is reportedly being eyed by Tottenham for a shock summer move with talks over a new contract stalled at Manchester United.
According to a report by French outlet RMC Sport, Anthony Martial’s future at Manchester United has come under a cloud, with talks over a new deal with the club stalled. Tottenham are now plotting a shock summer move for the Frenchman, hoping to take advantage of his uncertain position at Old Trafford.
Martial finally seemed to have put his struggles under Jose Mourinho behind him, starting the 2017-18 season on an electric note. After the first half of the season, the Frenchman had already won the club’s Player of the Month award on three occasions.
Martial has a respectable record of 11 goals and 9 assists in 37 appearances across all competitions for Manchester United. But, the stuttering times from last season seem to have returned following the arrival of Alexis Sanchez last month.
Jose Mourinho has preferred deploying Sanchez on the left flank, and Romelu Lukaku as the striker, the two positions that Martial prefers playing on. The player has instead been deployed on the right flank, where he has been highly ineffective, struggling to get into good scoring positions as regularly as he did till January.
With Juan Mata excelling of late, Martial has had to share game time with the Spaniard. To make matters worse, the reports suggest that talks over a new contract with Manchester United have stalled, with no further discussions after they were initiated in December, and Tottenham now look to take advantage of his uncertain situation.
Spurs bolstered their attack in January by signing Lucas Moura, but Mauricio Pochettino seems intent on making further reinforcements to not just beef up his options but also create a formidable attacking unit. Tottenham’s interest in Martial, thus, makes sense, with the player likely to be open to leaving Manchester United if his position doesn’t improve soon.
Martial currently has little under 18 months left on his current deal with Manchester United, who have the option to extend the contract by one year. But, if talks don’t proceed, the Red Devils might have to consider selling the player to Tottenham, lest risk decline in his market value.
It now remains to be seen if Tottenham indeed launch the offensive to sign Martial in the summer. Conversely for the player, it will be interesting to see if he is able to rediscover his best form to remain with Manchester United.
