European giants mull over summer swoop of United star, he’ll cost them nothing

Inter Milan have shortlisted Anthony Martial ahead of his contract expiry with Manchester United this summer, as per Gazzetta dello Sport.

The Frenchman is now in the final two months of his Red Devils career, as the start of June will see Martial’s nine-year stay at Old Trafford reach an anticlimactic end.

As it stands, fans are left in the dark over whether he will feature again before he leaves, given that he’s been out of action since December 2023. In January, United confirmed that he would be sidelined for around 10 weeks after undergoing surgery on a groin complaint, but he is yet to be spotted in first-team training.

There are seven Premier League fixtures remaining for Erik ten Hag and his men, along with an FA Cup semi-final which, of course, could see them make the final of the competition for the second successive year.

In truth, Martial has never really lived up to the expectations set of him when he joined from Monaco in 2015.

His most prolific season in a red shirt came in the 2019/2020 season under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, when the striker formed a formidable, prolific partnership with Marcus Rashford and notched 23 goals and 11 assists in all competitions. That remains the only time that Martial has broken the 20-goal barrier.

This term, the 28-year-old has started just five matches in all competitions and made a total of 19 appearances.

Serie A leaders mull over Martial pursuit

In terms of Inter’s interest, they view United’s No.9 as a backup option should they fail to sign primary target Albert Gudmundsson of Genoa, who is also being monitored by Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur.

They appreciate Martial because they can acquire him for free, yet harbour concerns over his problematic injury record.