Tottenham can forget about purchasing Anthony Martial

Manchester United are never going to sell Anthony Martial to Tottenham, but that doesn’t mean he won’t play for Spurs in the near future.

Anthony Martial doesn’t have a future at Manchester United, but the club have several good reasons not to sell him to Tottenham. In addition to their obvious hesitancy to move him to a league rival, there’s also a significant financial reason why Ed Woodward won’t sell.

The revelation that the club would owe Monaco a significant portion of any fee they receive for Martial makes the chances of him being sold before his contract runs out almost nil. United officials would prefer to let the Frenchman’s contract run out as opposed to sell him for a pittance. It’s hard to argue with that logic.

This doesn’t necessarily mean Spurs can’t find a way to bring Martial to North London in the future though. The player only has a year and change left on his contract with the Red Devils. Unless they axe Jose Mourinho (which is a distinct possibility) in that time frame, it’s hard to envision him inking a new deal with the club.

That means he’ll be permitted to choose his next clue free of any input from United. Tottenham wouldn’t necessarily become the frontrunners at that point, but Spurs would certainly be in the mix. Martial has made it clear to his representatives that he wants to keep playing in England. There are only so many Premier League clubs with the requisite ambition and financial resources to satisfy his needs and wants. Tottenham are certainly one of the few.

The real question is whether or not Spurs will still want Martial in another year. The recent emergence of Lucas Moura on the wing has already lessened the need to add another wide man to the squad. Assuming Martial continues to struggle for match time at United it’s going to be very difficult for him to raise his stock in Mauricio Pochettino’s eyes. Spurs may simply elect to move on to other, less expensive, targets in the meantime.

Then again, players with Martial’s talent level don’t grow on trees. If Pochettino really believes he has world-class potential, he’ll push Tottenham officials to make him an offer he can’t refuse. Spurs won’t be getting Martial on their squad anytime soon, but it may end up happening without giving United a dime.