Manchester United might be forced to keep Anthony Martial despite poor record – Man United News And Transfer News

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Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag’s priority in the summer transfer window is to solve his team’s goalscoring woes.

Despite creating tons of chances, the Red Devils were the second lowest scorers among teams in the top-nine of the Premier League.

Apart from Marcus Rashford, none of the strikers managed to reach double figures and even the Mancunian’s form faded badly towards the fag-end of the campaign.

Another poor season for Martial

The most disappointing of the lot was Anthony Martial who missed a staggering 29 games this season and was generally lackadaisical when fit.

The Frenchman has let yet another United manager down with his poor injury record and his laziness when getting the chance to play.

He missed the last two games of the season including the FA Cup final against Manchester City with a hamstring tear but he is expected to be fit for pre-season.

The former Monaco starlet was looking at a six to eight week lay off and he should be fit just in time for the game against Lyon in Edinburgh on July 19, the day before the team jets off to the US for the start of their pre-season tour.

After more than six seasons, it is finally time to let the frustrating 27-year-old go but as The Telegraph pointed out, it will be hard to find a buyer who will be willing to put in a decent bid.

“Anthony Martial should recover from injury in time for the start of Manchester United’s pre-season tour but continues to face an uncertain future at Old Trafford.

“Martial has 12 months left on his existing contract, although United have an option to extend until June 2025, but his £200,000-a-week wages, fitful form and poor injury record may make him hard to move on for a decent fee,” the report mentioned.

Another important point made by James Ducker in his piece is the fact that if the France international does end up leaving, Ten Hag will need to bring in two centre-forwards this summer.

United will struggle to offload Martial

Considering the budget complications, it will be a tricky affair. And selling him will not fill the club’s coffers with money considering he is valued at €15million as per Transfermarkt.

Martial registered nine goals and three assists in 29 appearances in all competitions, with 17 coming from the start. Even more damningly, he never managed to play the full 90 minutes.

Fans and Ten Hag are running out of patience and it looks increasingly likely that United will never come close to recouping the £44 million they paid to Monaco back in 2015.

It might be another season of Martial staying on at this rate and he might yet again sparkle in pre-season before yet another inevitable breakdown.