Should Jose Mourinho Force Anthony Martial’s Departure Or Not?

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In some way, this feels like a topic we have beaten to death.

Jose Mourinho has asked executive vice chairman Ed Woodward to sell forward Anthony Martial before the European transfer window closes next week. According to a report from the Star, the Manchester United manager is adamant Martial is not good enough and wants his sale to raise funds to spend on new signings in January. Haven’t we heard this before? The relationship between both parties is beyond broken. And in a way, maybe the best scenario would be to move on.

Martial wants to leave and play elsewhere, hopefully in a team where he can be a regular starter. That’s not going to happen at United. Especially if Mourinho indeed believe he is “not good enough”. However, the first road block to seal his departure comes from the chairman, Ed Woodward. The aforementioned report has indicated that Woodward is refusing to sell Martial for less than top dollar, the paper adds.

Martial, however, has changed his stance… again.

For his part, Martial has done something of a U-turn. He first wanted to leave the club and did not want to join the team. But now, the French player is keen to stay put and prove himself to Mourinho and his United doubters, That is quite a change based on what we saw last summer. His agent did everything possible to take him out of Old Trafford, but now the player does not want that. Could this be due to a lack of suitable offers? Or perhaps because he realised the club does not want to part ways with him?

Whatever the case this is, this whole saga needs to stop. If Mourinho does not want Martial on the squad, the best scenario would be to sell him quickly. He is still regarded as a top talent and would bring fresh cash to the side. That money can be used to fix other needs – such as a suitable right winger or centre-back depth. But for that to happen, Woodward needs to understand that Martial’s value has dropped considerably. And why wouldn’t it drop based on everything that has happened?

So.. what should Manchester United do?

The best alternative here would be to take the best offer available and move on. Because if Martial spends six more months on the bench, his value will continue to decrease. And that’s not something either the player or the club want.

If by any reason Martial remains on the first-team squad come September, then Mourinho and him need to fix their relationship. They don’t need any distractions, especially considering how the season started.