Manchester United are hoping to send Anthony Martial to Tottenham Hotspur as part of the deal that would see Harry Kane swap one underachieving Premier League giant for another, as reported by ESPN.
If Mauricio Pochettino had seized the chance to return for a second spell in North London last summer, this is an offer that Spurs certainly might be tempted by.
It is no secret that Pochettino is a big admirer of Martial. The Argentine attempted on numerous occasions to bring one of Europe’s most divisive forward players to Tottenham.
According to MEN, Spurs demanded the £36 million France international when United came calling for Toby Alderweireld in the summer of 2018.
It remains to be seen whether Antonio Conte would be willing to take a punt, however, on a player who, like many at Old Trafford, has not come close to realising his undoubted potential in that iconic red shirt.
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“I labelled him world class because I believe that he’s world class,” former United star Robin van Persie told 90min as recently as 2020.
“What I really like about him is his game is ‘all-round’. He can dribble, he can shoot, he can score, he can assist. But what I like most is that he has more ‘weapons’ (than most forwards).
Will Tottenham finally land Anthony Martial?
Farmed out on loan to Sevilla in January, Martial no longer appears to have a future at Man United.
And the 13-time Premier League champions hope that, if Spurs are willing to play ball, Martial could be used as a makeweight in a deal that would see Kane follow in the footsteps of Michael Carrick and Dimitar Berbatov.
Then again, Martial has scored just nine goals in the last two seasons. This would hardly be a like-for-like replacement. If Kane goes, Spurs will want to replace him with an elite, world-level operator. Someone far more consistent than Martial, for instance.
What’s more, Martial’s stance provides another obstacle in an already rather complex situation. ESPN adds that, if the former Monaco whizzkid does depart on a permanent basis, he would rather join a club in Italy or Spain than a rival Premier League side.
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