Manchester United paid a FORTUNE for him but he may leave on the cheap
One of the most promising players of his generation may just leave the Red Devils for a fraction of what was paid for him
Every year, a myriad of young footballers are branded with the "next big thing" tag, but in reality very few get to have the career foretold for them. For every Kylian Mbappé or Phil Foden, you have a long list of Gael Kakuta's and Hachim Mastour's. One of those who had been marked for a stellar career was Anthony Martial, but things didn't go exactly to plan.
Anthony Martial's performances with Monaco prompted Manchester United to pay 60 million euros for the player, a fee that surprised many in France
Coming through the Olympique Lyon academy, he made his professional debut with Les Gones in 2012 aged 17, and was quickly bought by AS Monaco on account of his big potential.
With the Monegasque team, he would get his big break during the 2014-15 season, scoring 12 goals across all competitons in 48 games and impressing with his pace and technical skills. Those performances were enough to convince Manchester United to pay 60 million euros for him.
He impressed early on in his stint with the Red Devils, finishin the season with 18 goals and 11 assists in 56 games, and promting former manager Sir Alex Ferguson to claim he could "do anything" on the pitch.
However, as Louis Van Gaal departed Manchster United and the José Mourinho era started at Old Trafford in the 2016-17 season, Martial's performances dropped and he lost his spot in the staring 11, with trouble in his personal life being claimed as the main cause.
Another bad season during 2017-18 brought rumours of a transfer, a but a run of form the following season under Ole Gunnar Solskjær during 2018-19 prompted Manchester United to renew his contract, giving him a new five-year deal. Things seemed to work when he had his best season wearing the Red Devils' shirt in 2019-20, scoring 23 and assisting 12 after coming back from injury in October 2019.
However, his performances across 2020-21 were dismal and a poor start to last season saw him move on a loan to Spanish side Sevilla, where he managed just 1 goal and 1 assist in 12 matches.
Now, despite manager Erik ten Hag claiming everyone is getting a clean slate under him, Martial's £240,000-per-week contract feels like an awful lot of money for a player that has in truth only proved his worth on two season of the seven he's been at Old Trafford.
Last season could be the last for Anthony Martial with the famous red shirt of Manchester United
According to UK newspaper The Daily Mirror, the Red Devils would be keen on offers of as little as £20million for the player they paid three times over just seven years ago. As such, reports are coming that Manchester United are willing to entertain offers for the Frenchman, who despite being a name in top European leagues for so long, is still just 26 and could still prove a good buy for a number of clubs.
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