Man Utd struggler’s ‘unfinished business’ has huge effect on exit link, as West Ham hold internal talks

Manchester United attacker Anthony Martial has ruled out one destination ahead of his departure from the club, according to a report.

Martial will become a free agent at the end of the season when his contract with Man Utd expires, since they are not willing to use their option to extend it into next season and are equally unlikely to be able to persuade him to leave for a transfer fee this month.

It was recently revealed that Martial was rejecting a January departure from Man Utd so he could assess a potentially wider range of options in the summer.

Indeed, widespread interest is generating for the former Monaco talent, who is still only 28 years old and therefore not a complete lost cause at the top level, despite his decline in fortunes for Man Utd in recent years.

According to Caught Offside, Martial has suitors in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Italy and even England still.

Fenerbahce are his admirers in the Super Lig, Inter Milan are on his trail from Serie A, while West Ham are said to have discussed the idea of keeping him in the Premier League.

The Hammers are hoping to find new bodies in attack after ending the Gianluca Scamacca experiment in the summer just one season in.

Martial is a versatile candidate who could answer some of their questions in the final third if a deal is deemed appropriate, but they may be wary of competition from further afield.

The identities of which Saudi Pro League clubs could offer Martial the next step are more vague for now, but it might not matter too much.

After all, the report claims that Martial believes he has ‘unfinished business’ in European football and would therefore be unlikely to consider a move to the Middle East.

Several players have been tempted by the riches of the Saudi Pro League in recent months – including former Man Utd players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Alex Telles, who are both now at Al-Nassr – but it appears Martial will not be following their lead.

Next Martial move to be on a free

His suitors will have to show some patience before they are able to sign him, but that doesn’t seem to be too much of an issue for them, since most would rather wait until they can sign him for free anyway.

It isn’t great news for Man Utd, though, considering how much they spent to sign Martial in the first place back in 2015.

He has since scored 90 goals for the club, including a career-best 23 in the 2019-20 season, but most observers would feel underwhelmed by what he has produced in contrast to the original expectations.

This season, for example, he has only scored once from 13 Premier League appearances, the last of which came just over a month ago before a bout of illness.

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