Anthony Martial’s agent said last week that his client wants to leave Manchester United in January.
Recently, reports in Italy suggested that Juventus could be keen on a loan swoop for the Frenchman to boost their firepower.
But ESPN claim that United have had no serious offers for Martial in the week since Philippe Lamboley went public with Martial’s desire to leave.
That is in part because of his wages and the fee that United would demand for the striker, who has a contract which runs until 2024.
United unwilling to subsidise wages
The report also says that while United are open to offers for Martial to leave, they are so far unwilling to subsidise his wages to facilitate a January exit.
United were forced to do that with Alexis Sanchez before eventually selling him to Inter Milan in August 2020.
A loan deal could reinvigorate Martial’s career like it did for Jesse Lingard last January but it also needs to work out financially.
It seems likely it is only the clubs in the Premier League and some of the biggest across Europe who could afford Martial.
Given he is injured at present and has only one goal from ten appearances this season, shelling out big money to land Martial would be a gamble for any club.
That means it is not especially surprising if what ESPN are reporting is true. Martial and his agent will be hoping that more potential suitors come forward between now and the end of January.
With the current Covid situation, United may decide that it is better to keep Martial around rather than still be paying a portion of his wages to play for someone else.
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