It is getting clear as day that Manchester United will be without Anthony Martial after this season and Olympique Lyonnais have picked up on the scent. The Ligue 1 outfit have joined in on the race to sign the 22-year-old and might just agree to pay United’s hefty asking price.
The reason for the unfathomable transfer fee will be because of the player’s age and for the value for which he was brought to Old Trafford. Martial signed with the Red Devils back in the summer of 2015 for an initial fee of £36m which could eventually rise to £60m. AS Monaco have inserted various clauses into the sale, one of them being a £8.9m additional fee when the striker hits the 25 goal mark. Fortunately for United, Martial has been stuck on 24 ever since the Burnley game from early January and could just scrape by without scoring another if Jose Mourinho continues to choose Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford over him.
Monaco will be owed a percentage of the sales if Martial fetches the Red Devils any amount upwards of £45m. Lyon have already conducted business with the Manchester club and are looking to build their own attacking lineup to challenge the likes of Paris Saint-Germain.
After an 18-month struggle at Old Trafford, Memphis Depay has proven to be a star performer for the Les Gones with 17 goals and 15 assists. Lyon also have the formidable Nabil Fekir in the starting lineup who has quite deservedly caught the eyes of a number of experts from all over Europe.
Martial could lineup alongside the duo and easily push the side towards an improved title challenge next season. The prospects of the Premier League is no longer favouring his playing career and it might be the right time to make a change.
Ever since Alexis Sanchez made the switch to Manchester, the Frenchman’s game time has diminished significantly, which is lower than he managed with just Marcus Rashford as his competitor.
He did start in the weekend tie against Bournemouth but could not get on the scoring sheet. Romelu Lukaku has taken over the centre-forward spot and the wings are more of a less effective position for Martial.
He was the starting number nine under Louis Van Gaal and even managed an impressive tally 18 goals and 11 assists in his debut season. That is no longer the case with Mourinho in charge and the constant noise of big-money arrivals in the subsequent transfer windows.
