The transfer news just keeps on coming, as Anthony Martial and Dean Henderson have been linked with moves away from Manchester United in January.
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With just a few months to go until the transfer window opens up again on Jan. 1, there are going to be a lot of reports starting to pop up once again.
Let’s dig a little deeper into these latest reports on Anthony Martial and Dean Henderson, as both players are on the outside looking in when it comes to the starting lineup at Manchester United.
Well, that’s the situation right now.
Anthony Martial wants move; Barcelona linked
A report from Eurosport says that Martial, 25, has been given the ‘green light’ to search for a new club in January.
However, the main problem is that United want $55 million for Martial and he still has three years left on his contract.
The French international has fallen down the pecking order at Old Trafford after the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho this summer, plus Edinson Cavani extending his stay at United for another season. When you have Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood at the club too, Martial’s chances of playing week in, week out will be very limited.
Martial has been at United since the summer of 2015 and has scored 78 goals in 263 appearances for the Red Devils. But he scored seven times in an injury-hit 2020-21 campaign and hasn’t scored in five outings this season.
Despite scoring some stunning goals, he’s never quite hit the heights expected of him when he joined from Monaco as a teenager. He has won the FA Cup, League Cup and Europa League but United never seem to have found his correct position. He’s not an out-and-out winger, but he’s not a clinical central striker either. He’s a number 9.5…
The report states that Barcelona are interested in signing Martial, but where are they going to get the cash from to sign him?
It seems likely that a loan move away from Manchester United could be Martial’s best route to regular action and that will be at the forefront of his mind as he battles for a place in France’s 2022 World Cup squad. His quality is undoubted but due to injuries, losses in form and just not having the right manager at the right time, Martial hasn’t elevated himself to become one of United’s mainstays.
Dean Henderson keen on another loan
Multiple reports state that goalkeeper Dean Henderson, 24, also wants to leave Manchester United in January.
The English goalkeeper established himself as United’s starter at the end of the 2020-21 season and was due to take the No. 1 spot this season.
However, over the summer Henderson contracted COVID-19 and has been suffering with the impacts of long-COVID which has seen David de Gea given the chance to reestablish himself as United’s main man in goal.
It will be intriguing to see which teams make a move for Henderson in January, if he is allowed to leave. His two loan spells at Sheffield United went very well and with Tom Heaton the third-choice goalkeeper at Manchester United, the Red Devils could be happy enough to let Henderson move on loan.
The academy product is well-liked, he’s ambitious and he plans to push Jordan Pickford all the way for the starting spot for England.