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Manchester United are in sales mode as they look to wrap up their summer spending in style, and they may have just been handed a fantastic opportunity just as the window enters its final weeks, with interest in Anthony Martial emerging.
The Frenchman has been a constant source of frustration around Old Trafford. Perennially injured and lacking in consistency, Martial has been far from reliable in a United shirt.
His issues have arguably never been more pronounced than they were last season. The 27-year-old missed 27 matches through injury and that does not even account for the games he was deemed only fit enough for the bench.
Bearing in mind Martial is one of the club’s top earners – reportedly on £250,000-a-week – he is certainly a player the club would like to move on.
But on that money and with that injury record, it was thought that Man United would be stuck with him this season.
Now, however, CaughtOffside reports that Inter Milan are considering a move for Martial, after they failed in their pursuit of Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun. The Gunners will not budge on their £50m valuation of the 22-year-old American, forcing the Nerazzurri to shop around.
And while Anthony Martial’s current salary would cost Inter around £13m a year – unaffordable to Inter – there is a belief that his overall cost could be negotiated down to a number significantly lower than Arsenal’s Balogun price.
As demonstrated by West Ham’s pursuit of Harry Maguire, Man United are willing to pay players off if necessary to move them on, and a similar situation could develop in this instance.
Inter’s current top earner, Lautaro Martinez, earns around £184,000-a-week. Were Martial to take on a similar wage, there would be roughly a £70,000-a-week shortfall.
But with only a year to run on his deal at United, the club would ‘only’ be required to supply a golden handshake worth around £3.6m.
The kind of fee United could expect is something of an unknown at this juncture. Transfermarkt places Martial’s value at around £13m, but The Red Devils would probably have to settle for less were he to negotiate a deal as a top earner at a new employer.
But getting his wages off the books and making room for a striker who offered some measure of reliability and consistency would be its own reward for Manchester United.
