Blow for Manchester United & Arsenal: Zinedine Zidane instructs Real Madrid to hijack £80million transfer

Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane wants his club to launch an £80million transfer bid for Manchester United forward and Arsenal target Anthony Martial.

The Daily Mirror claim Zidane is keen on Martial as an alternative to Kylian Mbappe, whom Madrid missed out on in the summer as he instead moved to Paris Saint-Germain.

Another pacey and skillful attacker capable of filling a variety of roles up front or out wide, Martial has impressed at United this season, despite often being utilised as a super-sub by Jose Mourinho.

The Portuguese, however, singled out the Frenchman for praise this week as he named him as his most improved player this season.

‘I think we had an improvement with Martial,’ Mourinho is quoted in the Metro.

‘He’s scoring more goals than last season. That’s why he is playing more. He has more minutes on the pitch.’

Anthony Martial has shone as a super-sub for Man Utd this season

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Still, the Mirror suggest Real still hold out some hope of luring Martial away, with Zidane a huge fan of the 21-year-old, who has shown himself to be one of the most exciting young players in world football.

A move to the Bernabeu seems far more likely than a switch to rivals Arsenal, with the Mirror mentioning the Gunners as surprise suitors for the former Monaco man earlier this season.

While Martial makes sense as a possible Alexis Sanchez replacement at the Emirates Stadium, it seems Arsene Wenger has since moved on with the Daily Mail today linking his club with a move for Thomas Lemar instead, while the Mirror suggest Julian Draxler is another contender.