According to reports, Tottenham Hotspur have tabled a bid for Manchester United’s Anthony Martial as Mauricio Pochettino continues his search for a wide forward before the transfer window closes. The failure of Sissoko last season, although compensated effectively by Heung Min Son, was never fully productive and the Lilywhites have missed on a few names since May before arriving at the United winger.
Reports in France believe that the 21-year-old doesn’t hold a concrete first place under the management of Jose Mourinho at the moment, who is fond of players with defensive attributes and willing to work harder up and down the flanks. The injury to Luke Shaw had forced the Portuguese boss to play three at the back with Jese Lingard in the left wing-back role, which was a clear indication of it.
The young winger was also considered in a swap deal with Inter Milan’s Ivan Perisic, whom United pursued long before giving up. Of course, an offer from Spurs is likely to be rejected, given how strong a title contender they have been in the past two seasons and how their stance has been towards their player leaving for United.
Tottenham have previously tracked Crystal Palace’s Wilfred Zaha before he was locked into a long-term contract with the London club. Apart from him, Serie A side Lazio’s Balde Keita was also taken into consideration but Martial’s experience in the Premier League and readiness seemed a better offer.
Pochettino has mostly played Christian Eriksen on the left wing last season as he had no good options apart from young Georges-Kevin N’Koudou and Son. Erik Lamela’s season long injuries continue into this season too and Spurs wouldn’t want to risk over-burning their players with games.
Anthony Martial had moved from Ligue 1 giants AS Lyon to Manchester United back in 2015 for a record £36 million. And although he has failed to be the fan favourite in that time, the young boy from Massy surely had his moments with silky movements and scintillating pace.
He has scored 25 goals and 17 goals for United in 91 games with Luis van Gaal using him quite frequently during his reign. The arrival of Jose Mourinho last season changed things for him at Old Trafford as he managed just four goals and six assists from 25 games last season. He is clearly not happy with the current state of affairs and could move out this summer.
The lack of opportunity has hampered his national career too, where the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele now get the nod over him on the flanks.
