As Manchester United’s campaign draws to a close after the FA Cup final, one player has already been packing his bags.
Anthony Martial has been injured for most of the season and he did not travel with the squad ahead of the FA Cup final on Saturday.
With the Frenchman’s contract expiring at the end of June, talkSPORT understands Martial will leave the club on a free transfer.
It means that the striker has already played his final game for United.
Martial’s final appearance for the Red Devils came on December 9 when he played centre forward against Bournemouth in a 3-0 defeat, being taken off in the 56th minute.
Since then, the former Monaco ace has been ruled out with illness and groin surgery, while he has simply not been in the squad at all since March.
Erik ten Hag has not included him in his squad for the FA Cup final against Manchester City and Martial did not travel with the other players on their trip to London.
That is despite the Dutchman revealing that the forward was available after struggling with fitness in recent months.
In his press conference ahead of the Wembley showdown, Ten Hag opened up on his options and said: “Yeah, Harry Maguire is unavailable.
“But for the rest, all of the players mentioned are available.
“Tomorrow final training and we make final decisions but the way I see it now it looks good (that Mason Mount, Victor Lindelof and Anthony Martial are available).”
Martial’s omission will see the player once heralded as a wonderkid whimper out of Old Trafford after scoring just twice this season, one in the Premier League.
In total, Martial has played 209 times for the Red Devils, scoring 63 times and assisting a further 27 after joining from Monaco in 2015.
He signed for United as a 19-year-old and remarked as one of the most exciting youngsters in the world, introducing himself with a brilliant goal against Liverpool when Louis van Gaal was in charge.
The striker ended his first campaign with 17 goals in all competitions but only struck four goals in the Premier League the following campaign under Jose Mourinho.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer appeared to unlock his attacking quality when in 2019/20, Martial scored 23 times in all competitions including 17 in the league.
But he appeared to fade since that season, bagging just 12 in the next four years that also saw him loaned out to Sevilla.
Where Martial will move to next remains to be seen, though a return to Monaco could be the likeliest option.
News Summary:
- Manchester United striker has already played his last game for the club with FA Cup squad decision
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