Anthony Martial is interested in a move to Juventus after the Italian club made the unsettled Manchester United forward their top transfer target.
Juventus, the Serie A leaders, and Bayern Munich, the German champions, are set to go head to head in the race for Martial’s signature this summer.
Martial is likely to be given a rare run-out in United’s Premier League match away to Bournemouth tonight but his long-term future at the club appears bleak. He has started four of the 13 games United have played since they signed Alexis Sánchez, which effectively made the Frenchman José Mourinho’s third choice on the left side of United’s attack, behind the Chilean and Marcus Rashford.
Martial is refusing to sign a new deal until he gets assurances from Mourinho that he will play more often, but the manager says that the player must earn the right to start games.
It is understood that Martial was disappointed at not having the chance to discuss a move to Arsenal in January, when the London club raised the possibility of including the forward in the swap deal that led to Henrikh Mkhitaryan leaving Old Trafford instead.
Bayern would also be an attractive proposition for Martial, but their interest in him is thought not to be as strong as that of Juventus. Martial’s cousin Jéma expressed his annoyance at Mourinho on Twitter, pointing out that the Portuguese sold Kevin De Bruyne and Mo Salah while at Chelsea.
He tweeted: “It’s impossible to progress under this coach’s orders. Too many examples prove it. If you see the last two years and the past with Salah, De Bruyne or Lukaku at Chelsea, I don’t invent. I think that for young players who can improve he’s not the good one. Just a view.”