26 December 2023 , 15:49
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Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has made clear selling Anthony Martial is not the plan with an admission that will please co-owner Joel Glazer.
Martial has long been tipped to leave Old Trafford come the end of the current campaign when his contract expires, but recent reports suggested the 28-year-old could see the process accelerated as soon as when the January transfer window opens next month. United do boast the option to extend his stay for another 12 months, but there is little interest within the club in doing so.
The prospect of cashing in on Martial and replacing him with a younger, more lethal attacker is surely an attractive one to Ten Hag. However, the former Monaco man is unlikely to generate much of a transfer fee and funds from elsewhere are in short supply.
Other attackers have fallen below expectations at Old Trafford this season, with £72million man Rasmus Hojlund failing to score a league goal in 14 attempts. Marcus Rashford has hardly fared much better, with the England international netting just twice in 17 league games.
Martial's own statistics barely make for better reading, with the former Sevilla loanee boasting just one goal to his name. Despite such a dismal tally, Ten Hag seems to have suggested that there are no plans to part ways at the turn of the year.
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Speaking ahead of the Boxing Day clash at home to Aston Villa, Ten Hag was pressed for comment on whether there are plans to oversee Martial's departure next month. The Dutchman replied: "When we have news, then of course I will tell it. But that is not our aim."
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Anthony Martial has scored just one Premier League goal this season (Getty Images)That comment will be music to the ears of United's co-owner Joel Glazer. The American businessman is a huge fan of Martial's and is believed to have once likened him to Brazilian icon Pele.
During Jose Mourinho's reign as United boss, the self-proclaimed 'special one' wanted to let Martial leave to try and fund a move for then-Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic. That was until Glazer made clear his favourite player would not be leaving the club under any circumstances.
Given United currently languish as low as eighth in the table, Ten Hag's full focus will be on securing all three points when Villa come to Old Trafford. Going into the game, the Red Devils are eight points adrift of the much-coveted fourth spot for Champions League qualification.