It’s been very well documented that Anthony Martial wants away from Manchester United, and last night saw the Frenchman leaving the club’s preseason tour of the United States. Although it wasn’t because he’s been transferred to Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus or any other club that he’s been linked to this summer window.
Martial is heading back home for a personal, not professional reason. He wants to be there with his expecting partner for the birth of their baby daughter.
According to the Daily Mail, Martial received “special permission to curtail his involvement in the club’s tour on Tuesday night and has taken a flight back home from Los Angeles to be with his 25-year-old partner, Melanie Da Cruz.”
Martial already has one daughter, from a different mother to which he was previously married.
The Mail goes on to say that Anthony Martial and manager Jose Mourinho have a very fractured relationship, and although the boss will certainly understand and appreciate valuing family over preseason friendlies, the timing here will only create more tension to an already stressful situation.
Martial isn’t thrilled about his lack of playing time, and the public criticism he’s endured from Mourinho has only worsened the situation. Mourinho hasn’t exactly been too excited about how the 2015 summer transfer window deadline day acquisition has performed at United recently either.
Despite the list of clubs supposedly interested, the timing and fit just doesn’t seem to be right in order to get a deal done right now that serves the interests of both parties.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, is currently a regular contributor to SB Nation, WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
Follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Sound Cloud and YouTube. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to any and all of his.