The top clubs in Europe in the form of Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint Germain and Serie A champions Juventus are in the race to secure the services of Manchester United superstar Anthony Martial. The Red Devils will have a task on their hand to keep hold of their star winger in the summer transfer window because there are clubs who will splash the transfer fees to land Martial.
Martial joined Manchester United back in 2015 for a record transfer fee of £36m which potentially went up to £58m making him the most expensive teenager in the world as Louis Van Gaal purchased him from Ligue 1 side AS Monaco.
Martial had the dream debut that any youngster would have dreamt of in their wildest dream; scoring against fierce rivals Liverpool after coming on as a substitute in a 3-1 win at Old Trafford.
The young sensation had an extremely fruitful first season at The Theater of Dreams as he finished the season becoming United’s leading scorer with 17 goals in the Premier League.
However, it has not been pleasant for Martial ever since as the French starlet has been in and out of the first team squad over the past two years.
When Jose Mourinho took charge of Manchester United back in 2016, Martial has not been in the starting line-up too often despite putting in effort whenever given the chance to prove himself.
The likes of Jesse Lingard, Marcus Rashford, Juan Mata and the latest winter arrival Alexis Sanchez have pushed Martial further down the pecking order.
This has had a stop-start effect on Martial’s confidence and the Portuguese boss has been unhappy with his growth, attitude, and application. Not a lot of players suit the Mourinho-philosophy.
The ‘Special One’ has also insisted that if a player is unhappy and wants to move on, he has the right to voice his opinion and take the next step in their career.
At the start of the season, Martial was linked with a move to Italian club Inter Milan in a possible swap deal with Ivan Perisic, however, Mourinho decided to keep hold of the 22-year-old winger in the hope that he would kick-off this year.
Martial has still found himself restricted to making appearances from the bench. Although he has shown his flashes of brilliance from time to time, he has never managed to do so on a consistent and regular basis unable to get the desired work-rate that Mourinho demands.
Top Contenders-
With Martial being linked with a move away from England, French giants Paris Saint Germain are interested in his signature to bring him back to his native land.
However, the Parisians will face stiff competition from Serie A winners Juventus, who are desperate to revamp their squad to fight for the Champions League.
According to reports, Martial will cost close to £60m if he leaves this summer which should be considered a bargain in this market.
There is no denying the quality that Martial provides on the ball, his close control, trickery and pace have drawn comparisons to French legend Thierry Henry.