Manchester United made it clear that they would not consider any January loan enquiries from West Ham United, or any other team, regarding Marcus Rashford or Anthony Martial. The window closed, and Martial stayed at Old Trafford despite his still not figuring at all into the grand scheme right now.
You might remember back in September of 2015 when Anthony Martial arrived with authority from Monaco, in a transfer deadline day stunner, and set the world on fire?
It’s a false dawn right now as the Frenchman has seen his playing time, and hence scoring diminish this season. Martial led the club in scoring with 17 goals across all competitions last season, but he hasn’t featured in the last three Premier League games, being left out of the squad entirely against Stoke City on January 21st and then going unused as a substitute in both the 0-0 draw against Hull City on February 1st and the 3-0 victory over Leicester City Sunday.
His benching has led to rumors of unsettledness and hence a summer exit. It also prompted Martial to tweet this:
Dont listen the papers it's wrong thanks Come on United ?
— Anthony Martial (@AnthonyMartial) February 6, 2017
He’s only made nine league starts this season, but Anthony Martial maintains that we shouldn’t listen to the papers, because they are wrong.
Metro links a story from France claiming that Martial’s camp are annoyed by the treatment the 21-year-old has received from Mourinho and are growing frustrated with the forward’s lack of playing time.
Metro also posited the idea that Antonio Conte should acquire Martial, given how Chelsea fans seem to be clamoring for it.
Maybe Martial is right, in that all we’re hearing is tabloid rubbish and no clear signal amidst the noise.
Or, the opposite is true and Martial is saying all the right things, to the benefit of the two ways this story can end. Either towing the company line helps him make a real chance with the Red Devils, or the appearance of not wanting to leave helps drive up his potential sale price in the summer.
Either way, it’s win-win for Anthony Martial to tweet stuff like this. It is truly odd though that Martial, the £36m 2015 deadline day buy and jewel of that summer transfer window acquisition class, still has no presence with the club right now.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, Bold and the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication, appears regularly as a guest on CGTN America, WGN CLTV News and KOZN 1620 The Zone.
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