Happy New Year Manchester United fans! To celebrate, we have a double edition of transfer talk. Anything to get your mind off yet another humiliating loss this past weekend, this time at the hands of Nottingham Forest. This edition covers the likes of Anthony Martial, Victor Lindelof and Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
For part one, covering Raphael Varane and Donny van de Beek, go here.
Martial has only six months left on his current deal, and according to various reports, United will not activate their option to extend his contract by an additional year.
Despite the party line being espoused by manager Erik ten Hag, that the Frenchman is actually part of the plan, we know that the reverse is actually true. United have been trying to offload the forward for some time, and have even sent him out on loan to Sevilla.
It is worth noting however that Martial, up until the Aston Villa win, had the team’s only Premier League goal scored by a true center forward this season.
Nevertheless, all the speculation about Martial has led to speculation that he could potentially be transferred to Marseille. Seems natural, as it’s a return to his home country.
However, a report in La Provence states that Marseille are “frustrated” by the narratives linking them to Martial (h/t Goal). I guess that’s a great way of saying…they’re not interested, at all.
So who knows where Martial will move on to. But we will now move to Victor Lindelof and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, two solid, not really spectacular signings by the club in recent years. Both defenders are not superstars by any means, but they’re good players, and the club will be extending their time at Old Trafford.
At least according to a report in ESPN today. Both Lindelof and Wan-Bissaka were set to see their contracts expire this summer, but the club will now extend them until 2025.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now, while writing for the International Baseball Writers Association of America. You can follow the website on Twitter.