Manchester United Striker Anthony Martial's Agent Hints At Summer Exit

Manchester United striker Anthony Martial’s agent, Philippe Lamboley, has refused to rule out a summer move for his client but insists that his current focus is on helping Jose Mourinho’s side win the FA Cup and cement their second place on the Premier League table.

The French striker joined United from AS Monaco in 2015 for a fee in the region of £36million ($50m) after having been dubbed the new Thierry Henry. He has impressed when given the opportunity but failed to nail down a regular spot in the starting XI in the three years he has been at the club.

Martial impressed in his debut campaign in English football under Louis van Gaal, who was the manager of United during the 2015/16 campaign. He made 49 appearances in all competitions scoring 16 goals and providing nine assists.

The France international’s second season following the arrival of Jose Mourinho was not as fruitful as he struggled for game time under the new manager. He made 42 appearances, but only 28 were from the start and it yielded just eight goals.

Martial has enjoyed more game time in the current campaign with Mourinho using him more and he has already made 40 appearances contributing 11 goals in all competitions. However, since the arrival of Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal in January, the French striker has again struggled to play regularly.

The 22-year-old is back to competing for one spot in the starting XI with Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford as the two among the three positions in the front three are already occupied by the Chilean and Romelu Lukaku, who is the Portuguese coach’s first choice manager.

The lack of regular game time has seen him being linked with a move away from Old Trafford in the past, but he has dismissed speculation and made it clear that he wants to fight for his place in the first-team. However, if he is relegated to the bench for most part of the remainder of the campaign, his agent has hinted that he could seek a move in the summer.

“Will [Martial] stay in Manchester in the summer? At the moment, I cannot say anything else about it,” Lamboley told Il Bianconero, as quoted by the Independent.

“His goal is to win the FA Cup and to cement with Manchester United the second place in the Premier League,” Martial’s agent added.

Martial will not be short of suitors should he decide to leave United in the summer. Arsenal was previously linked with a move for the striker and the Gunners even tried to lure him as part of the deal that took Sanchez to Old Trafford.

Arsene Wenger is a big admirer of the former AS Monaco forward and would gladly bring him to the Emirates Stadium if the opportunity arose. Juventus is another club that has been linked with a move for the Frenchman, while there are certain to be a number of other clubs from across Europe monitoring the situation.

However, according to the Independent, despite Mourinho planning an overhaul in the summer, Martial is not said to be one of the players on the manager’s hit list.