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Football

14th Jun 2018

Anthony Martial wants to leave Manchester United, agent confirms

He wants out

Darragh Murphy

Anthony Martial hasn’t started many games for Manchester United under Jose Mourinho but there’s no questioning his potential.

When given the opportunity, Martial has shown on several occasions that he’s capable of feats of brilliance but he’s had to settle for a bit-part role at Old Trafford in recent seasons and the January arrival of Alexis Sanchez did nothing to remedy that problem.

With Romelu Lukaku the first-choice centre-forward and Sanchez favoured by Mourinho on the left-hand side of his attack, Martial and Marcus Rashford have spent much more time on the bench last term than they’d have liked.

Martial has been linked with a move away from United this summer, with reports claiming that Juventus, Barcelona, Chelsea and Arsenal are all interested in signing the Frenchman.

Martial has been left out of the France squad for the World Cup and that, coupled with the ongoing frustration of sitting behind Sanchez in the pecking order, has apparently resulted in a desire to leave the Red Devils.

The 22-year-old’s agent, Philippe Lamboley, has revealed that Martial’s situation has deteriorated to the point that he feels that there’s no way back now.

“After thinking about all the possibilities and settings, Anthony wants to leave Manchester United,” Lamboley told RMC Sport.

“Anthony is sad about his situation at Manchester.

“He loves the club and the fans, he showed it for three years. Without the great support from the fans, he would have already asked to leave the club.”

Martial joined United as a teenager who, at the time, was touted as a potential future Ballon d’Or winner.

But with his club and international career currently in limbo, it sounds like he’s reached breaking point and there will be no shortage of suitors. Lamboley commented:

“Anthony has the choice. I can not say anything on the subject at the moment but you think that from the moment a player like Anthony is on the market a lot of clubs are interested.

“The only thing I can say,” he added, “is that many coaches appreciate his profile and that many clubs want to show their projects to Anthony.”

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