French football expert Jonathan Johnson has tipped Manchester United forward Anthony Martial to leave the club this summer for a possible return to Ligue 1:
“I could see Anthony Martial returning to France this summer and one potential landing spot could be Lyon. Martial came through the youth academy there before moving to Monaco and breaking through at senior level there, and Lyon tend to like trying to repatriate some of their homegrown players,” Johnson said.
“It would certainly surprise me if Martial stayed at Old Trafford, so I think this could be a good move for Lyon to consider. France seems like a logical place for him to try to revive his career, but whether that’s on loan or a permanent transfer remains to be seen.
“Something surely needs to change for Martial after a frustrating few years. He’s just never quite found that consistency or lived up to what’s been expected of him, so if Lyon tried to give him a chance it wouldn’t be a shock to me. Lens might also find him an interesting solution given they’ve qualified for the Champions League and they could lose Lois Openda.”
Martial joined Manchester United in 2015 from AS Monaco and was tipped to be the next French megastar.
However, that has not panned out at all. The now 27-year-old has had several chances to stake a claim as the Red Devils’ main no.9, but on each occasion, he has come up short.
Manchester United have been linked with a number of strikes this summer, including Harry Kane and Victor Osimhen.
Signing just one striker and selling Martial would leave United short up top if their new star was to get injured, but Marcus Rashford can play up top, whilst Bruno Fernandes has also been used in a false-nine role previously.
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