The agent of Manchester United forward Anthony Martial has confirmed little progress is being made and that he’s pessimistic of reaching an agreement for his client to sign a new contract at Old Trafford.
The France international has had a one-year option on his current deal triggered by United, tying him down to the club until the end of next season.
Breaking | Manchester United triggered Anthony Martial’s 1-year extension until 2020 around 2 months ago, player is currently refusing to sign new 5-year deal on the table, according to RMC.
— Get French Football News (@GFFN) December 17, 2018
Breaking | Anthony Martial’s agent Philippe Lamboley on longer-term contract talks: “I am very pessimistic about discussions going positively… They’ve already made several offers that come nowhere near to what we expect.” (RMC)
— Get French Football News (@GFFN) December 17, 2018
However, Get French Football News quotes Martial’s agent Philippe Lamboley, speaking to RMC, as throwing major doubt over the player’s future, whilst reporting that he’s currently refusing to extend with the Red Devils.
Lamboley says he is pessimistic about anything positive coming out of further talks, saying Martial has already turned down several offers that did not come close to matching their valuations.
This is hugely worrying for MUFC, with Martial one of the top young attacking players in Europe and showing some fine form this season.
The 23-year-old has arguably been the only real positive in United’s attack as the likes of Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku have been well below-par, so if there’s a risk of losing him it’s hard to know where the club will go from there.
While United should have the resources available to spend big on a replacement, they could arguably do without taking more risks in the transfer market after so many recent flops.
Developing a talent like Martial would surely be far more worthwhile so they’ll hope some big turnaround can be achieved soon.