Anthony Martial could reportedly be heading for a surprise transfer away from Manchester United this summer, so where could his next club be?
You’d bet good money the France international will have top clubs in the Premier League and around Europe lining up to sign him if he is made available as the Independent suggest he will, which makes you wonder why Jose Mourinho would even consider parting ways with him.
MORE: Jose Mourinho identifies two transfer targets to replace Anthony Martial at Manchester United
The 22-year-old is one of Europe’s top young attacking players on his day, and his inconsistency in a United shirt is as much down to his lack of regular opportunities as anything else.
Martial could explode at the right club and under the right manager who’ll trust him, so here’s our look at those who should do all they can to ensure they win the race for his signature…
Arsenal
A club in need of an injection of youth, pace and swagger on the ball, Martial seems an absolutely ideal Arsenal player and back in the day is exactly the type of French youngster you’d have expected Arsene Wenger to get his hands on before anyone else.
Having sold the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott in January, there’s clear room for attacking signings at the Emirates Stadium, even with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan coming in after those three left.
Martial can play out wide or up front and would be a clear upgrade on players like Danny Welbeck and Alex Iwobi, whose chances at Arsenal must surely now be running out.
Chelsea
A stale squad who’ve massively under-achieved and looked disinterested for much of this season, it’s time for some change at Chelsea as well, and Martial could be the man for the job.
Eden Hazard continues to be linked with Real Madrid and if he were to leave it would take a special talent to replace him on that left-hand side, but Martial has it in him to do it.
The Frenchman would also surely do a better job at centre-forward than Alvaro Morata and Olivier Giroud have done this term, and it’s not like he’s unaffordable for a club of Chelsea’s resources.
Tottenham
Mauricio Pochettino seems the ideal manager to get a player like Martial to move up a bracket from ‘promising talent’ to ‘world class forward’ after the work he’s done on others at Tottenham.
Talented young players like Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen are just some of the names who’ve been improved immensely by Pochettino’s guidance at Tottenham, so why couldn’t Martial follow suit?
The former Monaco man may actually look at Spurs and think they wouldn’t represent his best chance of playing regularly given the depth of attacking talent they currently possess.
Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-Germain are always on the lookout for elite talent and Martial fits the bill, particularly if things don’t work out with Neymar, as it’s been suggested it might not.
The France international could benefit from a return to Ligue 1 and from playing regularly in an attack-minded side who’ll go for it and seek to entertain whether they’re playing Dijons or Bayern Munich.
Juventus
Finally, a move to Juventus could also be just right for Martial to get his career going again, with the Italian giants giving a good platform to top young talent in recent times.
Paul Pogba shone at Juve before joining United, and Paulo Dybala has also gone from strength to strength since he joined – though he could actually do with replacing this summer if recent rumours are to be believed.
Martial would be an ideal like-for-like replacement and would surely get the chances to play regularly and improve to the level he’s so clearly capable of.