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Manchester United’s preseason is at an end, with matches on back-to-back days at the weekend closing the curtain on preparations.
Conspicuous by his absence was Anthony Martial, who featured neither against RC Lens at Old Trafford nor against Athletic Bilbao in Dublin.
The Frenchman is, somewhat surprisingly, not injured, however he still did not make the matchday squad for either fixture.
Given that he is the only senior centre forward in the squad aside from currently injured new signing Rasmus Hojlund, that came as something of a surprise for fans.
Fabrizio Romano, however, may have provided an explanation today. In his column he writes that Man United are ready to let the France international go should they receive an offer.
“At the moment,” he writes, “Anthony Martial is staying at Manchester United but I’d consider him in the same range of players as Scott McTominay and Harry Maguire – if he gets an important proposal, he could leave.”
But Romano is clear that nothing is yet in motion, and the door will be left open for Martial to be a part of the squad this season:
“Otherwise, he’ll stay and be part of Erik Ten Hag’s rotation squad. That’s the feeling around Martial now.”
As reported by The Peoples Person yesterday, Anthony Martial is among a number of strikers under consideration by West Ham United.
They have rather the extensive shortlist, however, so hoping for an offer at this stage may be fanciful – if the Irons do end up putting in an offer, it will likely come late in the window after they have failed to secure one of their preferred targets.
Martial’s horrendous fitness record and exorbitant wage packet will make him incredibly difficult to move on.
Should the club manage to find a buyer, they will surely look to sign another striker – one the team and manager can depend upon.
