ESPN journalist Mark Ogden has said that Manchester United probably won’t sell Anthony Martial this summer.
Last January, the forward was loaned out to Sevilla but he failed to make much of an impact in La Liga – failing to score once in nine appearances, while picking up just a single assist.
With that in mind, many may well have expected Man United to try and offload the underperforming Frenchman in the current transfer market.
However, according to Ogden, Martial is set to stay in Manchester simply because they don’t really have any alternatives in the squad and he is the ‘least worst option’ available.
While speaking on the Five YouTube Channel, he explained (12:50): “Martial will have to stay because of necessity.
“And it’s not ideal that you’re keeping players because they are the least worst option, but that’s what it is with Martial right now.
“Keeping him is better than letting go and having a hole in your options.”
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Striker Edinson Cavani has left this summer due to his contract expiring, and so that leaves Cristiano Ronaldo as the only natural senior centre-forward option within the squad.
With that in mind, it’s easy to see why Martial could be kept at the club simply to provide depth in the Manchester United team. It certainly would allow the Red Devils to focus on other transfer priorities – such as Frenkie de Jong – without having to worry about selling and replacing the striker.
Even so, it certainly does seem a little underwhelming. Indeed, the 26-year-old has scored a combined five Premier League goals in the past two seasons and was dubbed a ‘flop’ recently by The Express.
Things like that are probably why Ogden has describes the whole situation as ‘not ideal’ and names Martial as ‘the least worst option’.