French football expert Jonathan Johnson has tipped Manchester United forward Anthony Martial to leave the club this summer for a possible return to Ligue 1.
Writing exclusively for CaughtOffside, Johnson explained that he could see Martial coming back to France in an attempt to revive his career after a difficult few years at Old Trafford.
The 27-year-old has not lived up to the potential he showed early on in his United career, and Johnson believes that fast start he made to life in the Premier League perhaps ended up costing him.
Martial is clearly a superb talent, but his electrifying early form for United raised expectations to a level he’s found hard to sustain, while the journalist also suggested he’s aware of the player having some lifestyle problems away from the pitch.
All things considered, Johnson now says he’d be very surprised if Martial stayed with the Red Devils this summer, and named his old club Lyon, or perhaps Lens, as possible destinations for the Frenchman back in Ligue 1.
“I could see Anthony Martial returning to France this summer and one potential landing spot could be Lyon. Martial came through the youth academy there before moving to Monaco and breaking through at senior level there, and Lyon tend to like trying to repatriate some of their homegrown players,” Johnson said.
“It would certainly surprise me if Martial stayed at Old Trafford, so I think this could be a good move for Lyon to consider. France seems like a logical place for him to try to revive his career, but whether that’s on loan or a permanent transfer remains to be seen.
“Something surely needs to change for Martial after a frustrating few years. He’s just never quite found that consistency or lived up to what’s been expected of him, so if Lyon tried to give him a chance it wouldn’t be a shock to me. Lens might also find him an interesting solution given they’ve qualified for the Champions League and they could lose Lois Openda.
“It’s a shame to see Martial struggle the way he has because he’s such a talented player. There have been question-marks about him and over his lifestyle away from the pitch. To be honest, I think the difficult thing for him has been both a positive and a negative in that he started life at United so well and I think that led to unrealistic expectations of him; the bar was set so high from day one, and that meant it was always going to be hard for him to maintain that form, let alone better it.
“He looked like a world beater early on at United and I think many players would have struggled with the spotlight being on them like that at such a young age. He was a player who showed a lot of talent, and it might be that he’d do well in an environment that’s not quite as challenging as a big club like United.
“Having said that, I think he also hasn’t helped himself in some ways. There have been justified question-marks over his personality and his work rate away from the pitch, and it seems now that a string of different managers at Old Trafford have had the same problem with him.”
Anthony Martial is a talent with huge potential but he needs a softer league. If he was to play at Ajax Amsterdam he could be a phenomenal goalscorer.