Anthony Martial ‘deeply frustrated’ at Jose Mourinho telling him he’s missed his chance to start for Manchester United
ANTHONY MARTIAL'S future at Manchester United looks increasingly uncertain with the France forward unhappy at being left out of Jose Mourinho's team that lost 2-1 to Hull last night.
Martial, who could cost United up to £61.5million, was criticised by Mourinho in his pre-match press conference ahead of the EFL Cup semi-final.
Marcus Rashford was deployed as the left-sided attacker as United triumphed on aggregate 3-2, but blew their 17-match unbeaten run.
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But , Martial's camp have reacted negatively to Mourinho's comments.
The United boss said on Wednesday: "I don't think he lost his focus. I think he just didn't take with both hands the opportunity he had.
"When we spoke about Memphis Depay, we spoke about it being the only position where we have overbooking.
"We still have five players for these positions, I cannot give to one player chances to play and kill the others."
Martial, 21, was part of United's first-team line-up in their 1-1 draw with Liverpool and looked lively in the opening exchanges but then seemed to fade out of the game.
He was then left out of the squad that travelled to Stoke and drew 1-1 after missing a host of chances, before remaining in Manchester as they lost 2-1 to Hull with the best part of a first-team.
There is no doubt Martial has endured a frustrating season after getting off to a flyer in his first, finding the back of the net 17 times in his first term at the club.
He could match that tally with an upturn in form this year, but it looks unlikely, with six goals in all competitions in 21 appearances in the red shirt so far this season.
But consistent games have been hard to come by for Martial, with his team pointing to the fact that he has scored in two of his last three starts for the Red Devils.
He was not helped by a concussion picked up in United's 3-1 defeat to Watford, where he appeared to be fouled in the build-up to the Hornets' opener.
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Martial's team claim he is settled in Manchester, after a tumultuous 2016, when he and ex Samantha broke up, with the mother of his child moving back to France, after an affair with singer Emily Wademan.
Mourinho is not the only coach to get on Martial's case about his form, international coach Didier Deschamps said he "expected more" from the forward and he has even been linked with a move to Sevilla on loan.
Another consideration is that United will have to stump up an extra £8.6m on top of the initial £38.5m they paid Monaco in 2015 as part of a clause in his contract.