Martial, Maguire Among Players To Be Sold By Manchester United

Manchester United is in the midst of a Renaissance period after pulling out a win against Nottingham Forest last week to put themselves in the English Football League Cup final, but it does not mean that they are content with the current roster.

The Manchester Evening News reported that the club is supposedly looking into selling Anthony Martial, team captain Harry Maguire and full-back Alex Telles this summer.

“United manager Erik ten Hag has stressed a new goalscorer is a priority in the close season and United are interested in Tottenham Hotspur talisman Harry Kane and Victor Osimhen of Napoli,” Samuel Luckhurst wrote.

The International Business Times cannot independently verify the information presented.

Should it be true, it makes sense as to why Martial is getting as much burn as he can under team boss Erik ten Hag because it allows the Red Devils to ask for a decent transfer fee.

Martial made his way to the hallowed grounds of Old Trafford ahead of the 2015-16 season after Manchester United was rumored to have paid out between £36 million ($43.3 million) and £58.8 million ($70.8 million) to acquire him from AS Monaco.

However, Martial has had a disappointing time in England thus far tallying only 85 goals in 283 appearances across all competitions with the Red Devils.

His one-year loan spell with Spanish La Liga club Sevilla had fans expecting him to find his footing once again, but only found the back of the net once in 12 total appearances–though it was in a Europa League fixture and not a La Liga match.

Selling Maguire is the bigger news to come out of the report as the club made him the most expensive defender in the world after reportedly making an improved bid of £80 million ($96.4 million) from their initial offer of £70 million ($84.3 million) in July 2019.

It surpassed the £75 million ($90.4 million) mark that Liverpool paid for Dutch star Virgil van Dijk in January 2018.

While he is a solid option in the backfield, fan opinion of the Sheffield, England-born captain has turned sour to the point that Maguire lowlights are consistently floating around social media, practically mocking Manchester United for shelling out so much to get him.

The arrivals of Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez and Tyrell Malacia have taken Maguire out of the rotation with midfielder Bruno Fernandes taking hold of the captain’s armband for most of the 2022-23 campaign.

Appearing in just 18 games this season, it has slowly become apparent that Maguire is the odd man out and will now be sold for transfer capital.

Manchester United booked themselves a spot in the final of the English Football League (EFL) Cup against Newcastle United after downing Nottingham Forest 5-0 on aggregate.

Winning it would mark their first piece of silverware since the 2016-17 season where they took home the EFL Cup, Community Shield and Europa League trophies.

With new hope springing forth for the Red Devils after years of disappointment, selling players in the offseason for new, more fitting ones for next season may just spell a Premier League title for the first time in a decade.