Man Utd ready to sell Anthony Martial for £50million as Inter Milan eye star as transfer replacement for Romelu Lukaku
ANTHONY MARTIAL is the man Inter Milan want to replace Chelsea-bound Romelu Lukaku.
And if Manchester United can recoup close to the £50million they forked out six years ago, the French striker will be off to the San Siro.
Lukaku is on the point of sealing a move back to his first Premier League two seasons after leaving Old Trafford for Italy.
The Belgian will get his wish of a return to Stamford Bridge once Chelsea get close to Inter’s near £100m asking price.
And when they do, they will immediately ramp up their efforts to land Martial, who they first tried to sign two years ago.
Ideally Inter hope to get him on a season-long loan – and although United prefer a permanent deal, they would agree as long as it included a commitment to buy in 12 months.
The two clubs have a good relationship, having previously done business for Ashley Young and Alexis Sanchez.
Martial, who earns around £200,000 a week, has three years left on his Old Trafford contract – plus a 12-month option - and is still only 25.
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But he knows his place was far from guaranteed at United, even before the knee ligament injury which ended his season in March.
Edinson Cavani is the undisputed goalscoring top dog, with Mason Greenwood, Marcus Rashford and new buy Jadon Sancho all ahead of him.
Spurs and Everton have both sniffed around, without following up initial interest, leaving the way clear for Inter.
Martial joined United from Monaco in 2015, and was an immediate hit with a goal on his debut against Liverpool.
But he has suffered a stop-start Old Trafford career over the past couple of years and last term managed just four goals in 17 Premier League starts.
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Speaking after Saturday's 4-0 friendly win over Everton, boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted: "Anthony has had a bad spell with injuries.
"He’s been training well with us but as players who’ve been out for a while, they need some more sharpness, need some more work.
"He tried to do the right thing; it didn’t come off all the time, but it’s better than what you fear sometimes when he’s been injured for five months – since March."
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