Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly considering making a move for Manchester United forward Anthony Martial in the January transfer window.
The high-profile summer arrivals of Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho has pushed Anthony Martial down the attacking pecking order at Old Trafford. Indeed, the French international, 25, has started just one Premier League game—the 1-1 draw with Southampton, where he struggled to make an impact and was replaced at the hour mark. So far, he has only clocked 99 minutes of Premier League action across four games.
Given his current situation at the club and a massive dip in form, Manchester United have decided they will be willing to offload the former Monaco man for £40m. According to the Express, Tottenham are interested in signing the 25-year-old Anthony Martial and are open to a swap deal involving midfielder Tanguy Ndombele in January.
Tanguy Ndombele, 24, has failed to settle down at Tottenham since his big-money move from Lyon in the summer of 2019. The Frenchman was keen to leave the north London club in the summer after two underwhelming campaigns at the club; however, there were no suitors for him.
The 24-year-old central midfielder made his first Premier League start of the season against Chelsea but was substituted early in the second half, as Spurs lost the London derby 3-0 at home. He was also sacrificed in the second half in the 3-1 loss to Arsenal in Matchday 6 and seems to be running out of time to impress the manager who is himself under pressure at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium.
While injuries and a lack of consistency hasn’t allowed the player to live up to the lofty expectations at Spurs, Manchester United are believed to be closely watching Ndombele as a potential long-term replacement for Paul Pogba, who is out of contract at the end of the season.
Tanguy Ndombele with Anthony Martial—Should Man United accept the deal?
Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s patience with Anthony Martial is seemingly running out, with the Premier League giants willing to cut their losses on the forward in the next transfer window. Martial has been troubled by injuries over the last couple of years while there remain question marks over his consistency, work rate and attitude.
The Frenchman has made six appearances in all formats this season, failing to make an impact in any of those outings whatsoever. Despite being a player with so much ability and potential, Martial has failed to live up to his £57.6million price tag at Old Trafford.
The same could be said about Tanguy Ndombele at Spurs. Under former managers Mauricio Pochettino and Jose Mourinho, Ndombele only showed flashes of his potential. The 24-year-old hasn’t played much for Nuno’s side, which makes it difficult for one to judge him.
Though there is no denying Ndombele’s talent, such a deal seems to be completely insignificant for Manchester United, even though they are believed to view him as a potential long-term replacement for Pogba. Solskjaer wants to build a side full of hungry, dynamic and exciting young talents, and while Ndombele oddly falls into the category, the 24-year-old’s injury struggles, lack of application and poor attitude at Spurs mean the Red Devils should stay away from him.
With Anthony Martial being more of a burden than a boon at the moment, it would be better for Manchester United to sell their forward elsewhere in January rather than agree to a swap deal for Ndombele with Spurs.