Anthony Martial and Jose Mourinho ready for the match

the club and José Mourinho is anxious not to sell the Frenchman. Martial believes his career has stagnated at United and that the 22-year contract expires next summer. But United should trigger a clause that allows its terms to be extended for a year and to bind Martial until the summer of 2020. By doing so, the club could fetch a lot of fees. higher.
Mourinho said Martial will be in his starting line-up for United's first game of the new campaign, Leicester's visit to Old Trafford on August 10, because front-line strikers Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford , will not be in shape after spending long holidays after the World Cup.

If they were available, Martial would certainly not be chosen, and Alexis Sánchez could still be selected in front of him. Jesse Lingard is also on a post-Russia break and is another player higher in the hierarchy than Martial. The absence of the foward of England opens the way for Martial to begin.

Despite uncertainty about his future, Ander Herrera believes that Martial can still recover for United. "He is very talented," said the midfielder. "He may be one of the best players in the world and I think he's very focused this season to crush him. When you have players like Anthony, like Rashford, Jesse, Juan [Mata] Alexis, that kind of players that can change the game. "

Herrera believes that Martial is part of a group of advanced options for the manager. "If one of them can not play, we have three or four more, so we have a lot of options," he said. "I think we should not think that any other club in the Premier League has better players because at least we have as good as the opponents."

Martial was bought by Louis van Gaal for £ 36m in the summer of 2015, a world record royalty for a teenager who raises to £ 58m with additions. Despite United's defeat against the Dutchman the following season, Martial was a remarkable player, scoring a memorable goal against Liverpool in his debut after coming on in the 65th minute in the 3-1 win at Old Trafford. He finished this first season with 17 goals, including the 90th-minute winner against Everton in the FA Cup semifinal. The Van Gaal team has won the trophy for the first time since 2004, with Martial playing the entire Wembley final.

The Dutchman, however, was sacked for failing to claim a spot in the Champions League and under Mourinho Martial lost his way. He is no longer a first choice and has only scored eight goals in 2016-17 and 11 goals last season. Martial lost the No. 9 jersey when Zlatan Ibrahimovic was signed by Mourinho in 2016, while Lukaku took him 12 months ago.

The uneven form of Martial has caused Mourinho's continued frustration. As neither Lingard, nor Mata, nor Rashford have emerged as an automatic choice in the starting lineup of Mourinho, Martial can still win.

Observer

Sunday Indo Sport