[manuchamp88]

Which team do you think would be interested? And what player from that team would suit.

It’s an interesting idea. His wages and form make the idea of getting a reasonable transfer fee basically impossible.

I mentioned in the Dortmund thread that I would love to swap him with Haaland. But with Martial's temperament, I really can't see him wanting to go to Germany which, incidentally, I feel has a fairly similar style of play to our league (but mostly because of the culture clash). No, I reckon he would be happier in France (obviously), Italy or Spain.

For France, only PSG is an option, really. I think he would probably see a team like Lyon or Marseille as too much of a downgrade. So, who could we look at from PSG? Just Marquinhos and Verratti, in my opinion. Di Maria is getting on so PSG might be looking to replace him. Then again, Martial would have to accept being a backup option.

Over in Italy, you have Inter, Milan, Juve and then maybe Napoli or Roma. If Inter sell Lautaro to Barca, I reckon they would be interested. We could go for Hakimi or Skriniar. Milan isn't as likely a destination in my opinion. Though they have 2 ageing forwards in Zlatan and Mandzukic, they've got Rebic and a couple of youngsters like Leao and Maldini. If both Zlatan and Mandzukic leave, then it might be possible, in which case, only Donnarumma (should DDG be sold and Ole want Deano as a no.2) and Tonali (Pirlo v.2.0) really interest me. Napoli have a few decent options in attack so not sure that would happen. Roma might be a better option if they can afford Martial's wages; their attacks leave a lot to be desired. In return, it's slim pickings but Zaniolo is the star option for me.

As for Spain? Madrid, Barca, Atletico. Atletico are stacked in attack so that's a no-go for starters. If Madrid decide to flog their whole attack (which, knowing Madrid, is possible) then they might want Martial as part of a new look attack (probably with Mbappe or Haaland). In return, we could look at Valverde, Varane, Casemiro or even Carvajal for competition for AWB. Barca might be another option if Messi and Coutinho leave. Knowing us, we'd probably fancy Dembele, but I'd rather go for De Jong (who would probably get the best out of VDB...assuming he's still here) or Puig (very highly rated).

Personally, if I were Martial, I'd go to Italy where the game is less intense as it might suit his, let's say, 'laid-back' style more.

Anyway, these are just some of my ideas. Feel free to tell me I'm talking nonsense!

 

[manuchamp88]

LvG said he bought him for when Giggs was in charge.

Imagine the looks those 2 would be giving each other watching him play now, though...

 

[Kopral Jono]

Only 2nd to Mkhitaryan in terms of having a fragile confidence.

Good point, the parallels between the two are uncanny. Both technically gifted, intelligent, the whole package, but lack that special edge to do it consistently at the highest level.

 

[Jericho]

He just doesn't seem to even want the ball. I think in his mind if he's doing well enough if he doesn't lose possession.

 

[Jackal981]

Beginning of the end for Martial, know way Ole can go into next season relying on this guy and he knows it',

I don't know who's buying Martial or how much you can even get for him in todays market, 25m ? But get him out the door asap and get a real striker signed,

Imagine upgrading him with Haaland one can only dream, although Ashley Barnes would be an upgrade at this rate

Michail Antonio would be an upgrade from Martial. Or even that bearded Sheffield guy who always scores against us would be better than him. Heck even I would take a swap with Josh King right now

 

[mav_9me]

Back to Ligue 1 this summer please. Hopefully we can get 20-30m for him.

 

[Sky1981]

You can't fix mentality, if one doesn't have the hunger to improve or even run then there's no helping them.

 

[Jackal981]

You can't fix mentality, if one doesn't have the hunger to improve or even run then there's no helping them.

I have seen people working on minimum wages put more effort than him. Player with worst mentality I have ever seen in United shirt. Used to be a fan but now I would swap him with any striker in the league.

 

[Kweku Amonoo]

He needs a psychologist. He’s too talented to be given up on so easily. He was our top scorer just last season, and I can’t accept that he’s suddenly turned to shit.

 

[TheRedHearted]

He needs a psychologist. He’s too talented to be given up on so easily. He was our top scorer just last season, and I can’t accept that he’s suddenly turned to shit.

Yep. And man management. Always felt it with the guy, he’s very emotion driven but his technique is wonderful. To me he needs to enjoy himself more and stop thinking so much.

 

[Water Melon]

He either hires a psychologist and sorts himself out or finds himself at another club. The talent is there, technique is there, but application and determination are non-existent. The prem is the most ruthless championship in the world and very demanding both physically and mentally. You ought to give your all every match or find the game flow past you.

 

[Member 105568]

I can’t make out what’s wrong with him. Thought he’d had his breakthrough last season, but it’s all gone to shit. He doesn’t help himself either. Get the feeling he might be more made for playing at Seville, Napoli, Marseille. Somewhere a bit smaller. He’d tear it up there, maybe United are too big for him.

 

[Terminator]

Just can't understand how it has gone so wrong for him this season. If he doesn't improve, he has to be sold in the summer.

 

[championo]

Just can't understand how it has gone so wrong for him this season. If he doesn't improve, he has to be sold in the summer.

Allan Saint-Maximin will be a better replacement for what we need. Marshall is a good player but he is not a fighter. We need fighters.

 

[groovyalbert]

I'd be fuming at his output and return this season if I was Ole - absolutely lamentable.

 

[ti vu]

Embarrassing that we still have to remind a player that's been here 5 years to move

So this confirms that Martial had been ignoring coaching/instructions from Ole. It's never tactic, endorsement from coaching staffs for Martial to move like he had done.

There is no excuse for such bad movement, and lack of effort from Martial.

 

[slored1]

I can't believe that this is the same player from last season. What on earth has happened to him? He looks fecking miserable, plays miserable and moves like my grandpa. Terrible again.

 

[Sky1981]

See he's given next season to "prove himself" all over again, and if it fails, he'll get the "try him in the wing he's not a CF" treatment, and if that fails we'd have a new manager and he gets another clean sheet to prove himself.

 

[M Bison]

Where are playing stats shown? I’d love to know how far he ran during the game vs the rest of the team.

He looked completely uninterested and strolled about. Even when subbed, he looked sulky and could barely be bothered walking off the pitch.

 

[McGrathsipan]

Where are playing stats shown? I’d love to know how far he ran during the game vs the rest of the team.

He looked completely uninterested and strolled about. Even when subbed, he looked sulky and could barely be bothered walking off the pitch.

Does trotting about aimlessly get picked up on the trackers ? Because that's all he does

 

[romufc]

Where are playing stats shown? I’d love to know how far he ran during the game vs the rest of the team.

He looked completely uninterested and strolled about. Even when subbed, he looked sulky and could barely be bothered walking off the pitch.

We played with 10 men. He offered us nothing up top, the ball kept bouncing off him, lost possession, never really got involved with any build up or anything positive for us all game.

I understand a players confidence being down and scoring is difficult however; his all round game play is rubbish.

Looks like Greenwood will get his chance.

 

[MattofManchester]

Baffles the mind he keeps getting selection.

Might as well throw in one of the youngsters.

He offers nothing anymore.

 

[united_99]

Ole clearly likes and rates him and is giving him chance after chance but he is not taking it. What’s wrong with him? He doesn’t even look bothered.
Is it because of Cavani? Did he really think he (Martial) would be the sole leading striker at a club like United for 10 years or something? We have had so many better strikers in the past with much more competition.
If he feels threatened by a 34 year old who doesn’t even play often then I don’t even want to imagine how he would be if we actually bought a young and established talented striker.

 

[McGrathsipan]

He needs a psychologist. He’s too talented to be given up on so easily. He was our top scorer just last season, and I can’t accept that he’s suddenly turned to shit.

I agree. His mentality is awfully bad.

 

[Ayoba]

He needs a sustained period on the bench but his mentality is so weak I fear that might actually permanently break him!

In all seriousness though, I hate calling for players heads but Ive just about had enough with Martial. He's been at the club for what 6 years now? Let's be honest, he's not really going to improve any further is he? We need to sell him in the summer and look for an upgrade.

 

[Mainoldo]

I think there’s a lot of valid criticisms you can have of Ole but the form of Martial is not one. It’s a really odd link to draw given how self-inflicted Martial’s problems are.

Martial has the ability to be one of the best players in the world. He has every tangible you could ask for as a forward; strength, size, pace, height, ball control, dribbling, two footedness etc.

He just, conversely, has none of the intangibles to match these.

His negative attributes - laziness, moodiness, general disinterest, a lack of goal scoring appetite - are worse now than at any point in his time at the club which shows it’s not a maturity issue. He’s 25. This is Martial as a player now.

He doesn’t possess the mentality to convert his talent into a reality. Incorrectly labelling that fact as a reason why Ole needs to go is way off the mark imo.

Laziness and moodiness is not an attribute and one I wouldn’t associate with Martial. His face might look it though.

I agree with you on the rest and I also believe another striker plays better than him right now. I.e. Danny Ings.

But I feel what we are going through with Martial is a mental block. I could be wrong but abit like Mourinho football after a while it becomes mentally draining.

 

[Parma Dewol]

Remember being in awe at how silky he moves with the ball at his feet when he first arrived on the scene. Thought he could go on to great things and won't forget the buzz we felt as we were leaving Wembley in 2016, after his stoppage time winner:



Always seemed so clinical in front of goal, but there was that doubt about his attitude and motivation. Before Covid, I used to like getting to the ground early to watch the players warm up, and Martial's behaviour was a running joke between the folk sat around us. He would often be the last player out, he'd walk slowly onto the pitch and, honestly, there were guys in the stands putting more effort into their pies than Tony Martial was putting into his pre-match routine. A lot of the time he'd be ambling about on his own, and you worried he'd take that same attitude into the game.

Can't believe that Wembley goal was five years ago. Used to believe that he'd become unstoppable if he put his mind to it, but I've got to admit, my patience has worn thin. He's had every opportunity and, as gifted as he is, I find it all the more frustrating when a natural talent falls short due to a simple lack of effort. He's 25 and in theory heading into his peak, but he needs a massive change in mindset if he's to ever hit the heights.

 

[Kostov]

Not good, for the entire season that is, he should be hitting his prime and he performs like this. Put him on the bench and play Greenwood instead, if he wants it bad enough he should earn it back into the team, if not ship him out.

 

[crossy1686]

Either him or the manager needs to go.

1 will leave and be successful.

This was said about LVG and Mourinho but look who's stinking up the place.

 

[crossy1686]

He’s Making sure he gets the whole summer off this time around.

You usually see players doing everything they can to get into the national team in a tournament year. He's playing like he's already been told he's never going to make the squad.

Just think how far he'll regress if we were to bring someone like Haaland in?

 

[Bojan11]

His first touch is brutal. Matic played a few good passes to him, and he couldn't control them. The more worrying thing is his lack of effort. He's fortunate there's no crowd right now as fans won't stand for him moping around on the pitch.

We need to bin him in the summer. At this rate, I rather have Ings as a stopgap until Haalands release clause activates in 2022.

 

[Mainoldo]

This was said about LVG and Mourinho but look who's stinking up the place.

Yeah Jose is doing a terrible job I agree. LVG just retired and I can’t remember Martial having issues with him.

 

[Jonno]

Absolutely abysmal.

I saw Greenwood make more CF runs in his 15 minute cameo than I did Martial the whole game.

He plays behind the CF role, or he drifts out to the wing. He looks a little lost, he doesn't appear to have the energy or desire to force some form. Really concerning.

I'd be tempted to move him on in the summer, he has value and potential, but I just don't see how United can carry a CF like this for much longer. I'd be tempted to sell him on and try bring in a young top striker either this summer, or next summer.

The issue is his real lack of desire when things aren't going well. I see 34 year old Cavani pressing for 90 mins, making off the ball movement and runs for 90 minutes, with fire and passion. I see Martial want it to his feet, or nothing. He doesn't want the ball in space, he doesn't want it in to his head, he doesn't want it out wide.

 

[Jonno]

His first touch is brutal. Matic played a few good passes to him, and he couldn't control them. The more worrying thing is his lack of effort. He's fortunate there's no crowd right now as fans won't stand for him moping around on the pitch.

We need to bin him in the summer. At this rate, I rather have Ings as a stopgap until Haalands release clause activates in 2022.

I'd take Billy Sharp, Chris Wood, McGoldrick, Calum Wilson, even Keifer fecking Moore in the Championship over Martial as a deputy to Cavani.

 

[EdinburghDevil]

I'd be rotating Greenwood and Cavani between now and the end of the season and get a feel for whether Greenwood is best through the middle of out on the right.

Need to look to move Martial on in the summer and use the funds to put towards a new striker or winger. I'm fed up on his attitude and it's showing no signs of improving.

 

[eire-red]

I think we could probably still sell him for a nice fee, and use that money towards strengthening the backline and midfield. From a goals point of view, I think when you look at this season and the goals output he has, you'd like to think next season Greenwood will pick up the slack to an extent that we essentially wouldn't have to replace him.

It would be sickening to watch him fulfill his potential somewhere else, but I think it's pretty clear now that it's not going to be at this club, and we should really be considering options.

 

[Gehrman]

Who would be a good replacement for Martial?

 

[Hughes35]

He's just not a good footballer. Doing the odd silky dribble doesn't make you a good player.

Never really done anything in a Utd shirt (Outside of his debut). I hate watching him stroll around looking all mardy.

Should be either Cavani or Greenwood up top at the moment. I even think Dan James should be ahead of him for a starting 11 spot....... and that is saying something!

 

[Knux]

I wouldn’t mind him sold but I just can’t see it right now. We already need a RW and a CF when Cavani leaves. Sell Martial and we need a whole front 3 in one summer. Can’t see that happen.

 

[Skåre Willoch]

He's turned into our biggest problem this season. We were counting on him to deliver the goods after last year, and now, 2 thirds into the season, he's yet to show up.

Replacing him should be our highest priority in the summer.