Manchester United have offered Anthony Martial a new long-term contract, according to reports in the UK.
The 22-year-old France forward is into the last year of the deal he signed in September 2015 and his Old Trafford future has been the subject of considerable speculation, with many reports claiming he has become a pawn in a power struggle at the club between manager Jose Mourinho and executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward.
That narrative would suggest Woodward has offered Martial a new deal, contrary to Mourinho’s wishes, and the player is tempted to sign as he believes the Portuguese manager’s days at the club are numbered.
However, Mourinho is believed to be fully on board with United's desire to keep Martial and talks between the club and his agent Philippe Lamboley are progressing.
Martial became football’s most expensive teenager when he signed for United from Monaco in a deal worth an initial £36 million, with more than £21 million in bonus clauses.
One of those add-ons was triggered when he scored his 25th goal for United — something he achieved by the end of his second season at the club — but after scoring 17 goals in 49 appearances in his first season in England, Martial has only scored 19 in 87 over the last two years.
His relationship with Mourinho has also been prickly, with the manager dropping several hints about his chances-to-goals ratio and work-rate.
As a result, Martial has been in and out of United’s starting line-up and his lack of games last season almost certainly cost him a place in France’s World Cup-winning squad in Russia this summer.
His struggles at United alerted other clubs to his possible availability and it is understood Tottenham were among those interested in signing him this summer, with Mourinho apparently open to the idea.
That certainly looked plausible on Monday, when Martial was not even included in United’s squad for Spurs’ visit, but it now appears that Old Trafford’s bosses are not willing to give up on a player who was named Europe’s most promising young talent by Uefa only three years ago.
