Manchester United Transfer Rumors: Anthony Martial Latest Linked To Old Trafford Move

Manchester United’s search for a forward has so far been unsuccessful with several transfer targets spurning their chances to join the club. With the transfer window just two days away from closing, Manchester United has reportedly turned their attention to AS Monaco’s Anthony Martial, according to The Telegraph.

Sports journalist Mark Ogden stated that, “well-placed sources in France on Sunday night reported that Manchester United have contacted Monaco over the high-rated French youngster Martial, who has just earned his first full call-up for Didier Deschamps’ France squad.”

The 19-year-old is regarded as one of France’s leading prospect ever since signing in Monaco from Lyon. Martial has scored 11 goals in 43 appearances and could now be in line for a mega move to Manchester United with a transfer bid reportedly worth up to £36 million.

Manchester United’s chase for a forward would have been amplified following the disappointing defeat against Swansea on Sunday. Captain Wayne Rooney failed to score yet again, despite coming into the match with a hat-trick against Club Brugge in the UEFA Champions League.

Manchester United’s manager, Louis Van Gaal, refuses to lose his cool and has insisted that he will not be goaded into signing a striker before the transfer window closes. As ESPN reported, Van Gaal stated that, “It doesn’t have any effect.”

“When you are scouting players, you know in advance, more than a month or two months, which players you can buy. It is not in the last moments you can panic.”

Manchester United have also sold Javier Hernandez to Bayer Leverkusen which now leaves them with an out-of-form Wayne Rooney, along with Marouane Fellani and James Wilson as the only first team options for the club.

Van Gaal also discussed the defeat away at The Liberty Stadium. He stated that, “You see the game. We could have scored much more goals. I don’t think that is the problem.”

“The opponent changed their shape,” he added. “They started with 4-2-3-1 and at 1-0, they changed their shape and we couldn’t cope with that. That is not good. We have lost in that five minutes [when Swansea scored twice] and it was a pity because I think we controlled the game and played very good. When you don’t know it [the new shape], you have to be compact. You have seen Swansea in the last 20-25 minutes, they were compact and it is always difficult to beat a compact team. We were probably too dominant [to have] the sense to do that.”

Should Manchester United sign Anthony Martial?

[Photo by Alex Livesey / Getty Images]