Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag is reportedly set to make Anthony Martial the fourth player to be expelled from first-team matters at Old Trafford since the beginning of the campaign. Martial joined the Red Devils from Monaco for around £36million back in 2015 but the Frenchman has failed to set the world alight during his time in the Premier League and looks poised to leave the club at the end of the current season.
Martial has scored just eight goals in 27 appearances for United this season and has failed to impress when called upon to lead the line in the absence of Marcus Rashford over the last few weeks. It seems as though Ten Hag’s patience with the 27-year-old is finally running out, with the Dutchman eager to move him on when the campaign draws to a close, according to The Sun.
It is claimed that Martial irked United figures when he went straight down the tunnel after being substituted at Bournemouth over the weekend, while his body language and lack of effective movement have also been credited with accelerating his downfall at Old Trafford. Eyebrows were also said to have been raised when he chose to wear gloves on a relatively mild day while playing against Brighton and Hove Albion earlier this month.
United chiefs are now thought to be convinced that Martial needs to leave in the summer and Ten Hag is believed to agree, which could see the forward’s eight-year spell at United brought to an abrupt end over the coming months. However, it remains to be seen where Martial will end up at the start of next season, with his stock having fallen dramatically as a result of his muted performances over the last few years.
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He was shipped out on loan to Sevilla during the second half of last season but was sent back to United after scoring just once in 12 appearances for the La Liga heavyweights. Ten Hag has regularly defended Martial in the press when quizzed on his lacklustre showings, even insisting that the team works better when he plays, although it now seems clear that his time is almost up with the summer transfer window just around the corner.
It comes after Ten Hag previously chose to freeze Brandon Williams, Axel Tuanzebe and Phil Jones out of first-team affairs at United in an attempt to cut the deadwood from his bloated squad. Jones and Tuanzebe have since been earmarked for release at the end of the season, while it would not be a surprise to see Williams follow them out of the club despite his contract remaining valid until the summer of 2024.
United are desperate to replace Martial with an out-and-out goalscorer to help ease the attacking burden on Rashford and will reportedly listen to any offers for the former, who still has a year left to run on his existing contract with the Red Devils. Arsenal icon Paul Merson recently suggested that Harry Kane would be the ideal player to target in place of Martial, who he believes is nowhere near good enough to grace the Old Trafford pitch on a consistent basis.
“Manchester United’s current front three is Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Antony, but I think there will be changes this summer, one million percent,” wrote Merson in his Sportskeeda column.
“They are 16 points behind Manchester City at the moment and the same team next season will not get anywhere close to the Premier League title. They need a Harry Kane up front. Anthony Martial – seriously? He shouldn’t be playing for Manchester United, sorry.”
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