Fenerbahce are reportedly making an opening bid of around £7 million as they look to sign Anthony Martial from Premier League giants Manchester United.
If you were to hire a fleet of world-leading scientists to design the most typical Turkish Super Lig player, the finished prototype would look quite a lot like Anthony Martial.
Take a moment to glance through some of last season’s top scorers in Turkey’s top flight. Among them are Fabio Borini, Cenk Tosun, Michy Batshuayi, Trezeguet and Mauro Icardi. Ageing forwards who fell on hard times before kick-starting their careers on the banks of the Bosphorus.
With his Manchester United contract expiring, and with the Red Devils unlikely to put forward an extension, reports suggesting that Martial could follow in the footsteps of Eric Bailly and co will come as no surprise.
Manchester United could sell Anthony Martial
Takvim believe that Fenerbahce are keen to make use of their good relations with United, after both clubs came to an agreement over a deal to take Altay Bayindir to Old Trafford in August. Martial could now move in the other direction. The report claims that Fenerbahce have submitted an opening bid in the region of £7 million.
It is an offer that will be tempting to United. This is, after all, the club’s final chance to recoup some of that £36 million investment; Martial’s £250,000-a-week wages proving to be a considerable drain on United’s resources (Spotrac).
Erik ten Hag’s side need to free up funds before they can look to make additions of their own. Martial, then, may become the third highly-paid, out-of-favour player to depart since Christmas, following in the footsteps of Donny van de Beek (now at Eintracht Frankfurt) and the Borussia Dortmund-bound Jadon Sancho.
INEOS’ guillotine is certainly getting plenty of use early in the Sir Jim Ratcliffe era.
Injury prone and inneffective
“Anthony Martial is the sort of player who gets you the sack. Why he’s still at the football club is beyond me,” former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan told talkSPORT (4th December, 11am) after a particularly dismal display in the 1-0 defeat at Newcastle United.
“He is symptomatic (of Man United’s problems).”
Martial’s departure could potentially open the door for a new striker to take his place. United have been linked with the aforementioned Icardi. They also hold an interest in Bundesliga trio Timo Werner, Serhou Guirassy and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting.
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