Where will Anthony Martial play his football next season?

Manchester United winger Anthony Martial has been amidst a lot of transfer speculation recently. One thing is for sure – the Frenchman is not very happy at Old Trafford, owing to the lack of playing time afforded to him under Jose Mourinho. Many believe that a player of his talent and ability should be the first name on the team sheet, but his Portuguese manager has never been one to live by the rules.

Martial was touted as the golden boy when signed by United back in 2015 from Monaco. His transfer fee included an upfront payment of £36 million but could potentially rise to upto £57 million in the coming years based on three bonus clauses. Clearly, big things were expected from him. He started brilliantly under Louis van Gaal, scoring an incredible solo goal to seal a victory over Liverpool on debut and winning the club’s Player of the Month award in his first month at the club. He went on to finish the season with 17 goals in competition, thereby being the top-scorer for United in both the league and overall.

Under Mourinho though, regular first-team football has been hard to come by. He was more often than not second-choice to Marcus Rashford last season, and has now found heightened competition following the signing of Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal in January. He has stated publicly in the past that his preferred position is centre-forward, but he has been preferred at left-wing during his time at the club. That is understandable in a way, as he arguably doesn’t have the stature and strength to lead the line on his own. His fantastic ability on the ball and trickery allow him to take on the opposition right-back, and have made him a potent threat whenever he has played.

The player is clearly concerned over his lack of game time, and has yet not signed an extension on his contract, which will come to an end in the summer of 2019. His place in the international side could be under threat as well, if he doesn’t turn up on a regular basis at club-level.

According to a report yesterday in the Mirror, Mourinho could be willing to let him leave for rivals Chelsea, if The Blues are ready to let Willian go the other way. The former Chelsea boss is a known admirer of the Brazilian winger, who ticks all his boxes in terms of the work-rate and defensive contribution he brings to the side. On the other hand, the Londoners have found goals hard to come by from their wingers, and Martial will certainly be a huge upgrade on Willian in that regard. Despite playing considerably lesser minutes, the United man has nine Premier League goals to his name compared to the Chelsea man’s six.

Juventus could also be looking at signing Martial, according to Italian source Corriere Dello Sport. The Italians are also reportedly looking at Chelsea’s Alvaro Morata, a player who used to play in Turin and has just not settled into life in English football.

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