Tottenham have been dealt a blow in their hopes of signing Anthony Martial, as reports from Italy claim that the Frenchman is close to joining Juventus.
The French attacker’s agent had recently spoken about Martial leaving United and we were in the running to sign the 22-year-old forward.
However, Calciomercato (h/t The Express) claims that the Serie A champions are in ‘pole position’ to sign Martial and that negotiations are already underway for the former Monaco star.
Juventus must replace the ageing Gonzalo Higuain and Martial seems to fit the bill for them.
Martial’s form for United wasn’t all that great last season and he even missed out on a place in France’s squad for the World Cup.
The 22-year-old scored just 11 goals in all competitions for the Red Devils and almost half of his appearances came off the bench.
Martial is one of the best young talents in the game and he would have been a great fit for our style of football under Mauricio Pochettino. The Frenchman can also play out wide or as a central striker, meaning he could have been deployed in a number of positions at Spurs.
Furthermore, the Italian league is not as testing as the Premier League and one might wonder as to how he would fit Juventus, given the slow-paced nature of the Serie A.
Also, Juve would have to shell out a huge amount to sign Martial and that is something they don’t normally do as they seem to have a penchant for bargains and free agents.
Martial would grow further and learn under Pochettino and it will be interesting to see where he ends up before the new season.
