Indykaila: Spurned Martial dreams of Liverpool switch

Everyone knows Anthony Martial is unhappy at Manchester Utd, with various media outlets reporting on his desperation to leave the club, but only Indykaila has the inside line on the 22-year-old’s first-choice destination when he gets his move out of Manchester – and his preference would send shockwaves through the footballing world.

The French forward is upset about his lack of playing time and the style of football Mourinho wants to play, and we can now exclusively reveal that Martial is hoping a club not too far away from Manchester would be willing to do the unthinkable and make a move for him.

With United becoming known for a more conservative, physical style under the Portuguese taskmaster, our inside sources tell us Martial feels as though his talents are better suited to a team that’ll allow its players more creative freedom.

We arranged a private meeting in one of Manchester’s most exclusive restaurants with a close confidante of the United star, who exclusively revealed over a medley of cauliflower textures and honeycomb mousse that Martial’s preference is to stay in the northwest – and to work with Jurgen Klopp at United’s arch rivals Liverpool.

With their brand of dynamic, high intensity, attacking football, they would be a great fit in Martial’s view, according to our source. They are managed by someone who encourages players to express themselves, loves versatility in his forwards and has a reputation for improving players.

“Anthony thinks Klopp can improve him, that won’t happen in Manchester. At least not at United,” we were told, our contact aiming another swipe at Mourinho’s stifling style as he polished off a 2014 Château Coutet Barsac.

“He loves the sea air and quayside walks too, it’s one of his favourite things to do, so a move to Liverpool would be a dream come true for him both professionally and personally,” we were told.

Under strict anonymity – though speaking quite loudly having finished a second bottle of wine – the friend also disclosed how Martial and Mourinho’s relationship is so broken that the former Chelsea coach is as eager to offload the player as Martial is to leave.

However, though Martial may want to make the Scouse sidestep in his career, any move is unlikely to materialise regardless of whether or not the interest is mutual.

The intense rivalry between the two clubs has seen no player directly move from one club to the other since 1964, and such is the disdain that Mourinho has for Liverpool that any concrete move is highly unlikely to happen despite Martial’s preference for Merseyside.

With Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Tottenham reportedly monitoring the situation, when the time comes for him to move on, he likely won’t be short of offers. And we received an unsolicited phonecall last week, which we have reason to believe was authentic, where it was claimed that Spurs provide the most likely acceptable scenario for both Martial and Mourinho among Premier League suitors.

Under Pochettino, Martial would likely be given the freedom that he desperately craves in a team that is more geared up to playing on the front foot. Tottenham have unsuccessfully searched for a back-up to Harry Kane in recent windows, with Vincent Janssen, Fernando Llorente, Moussa Sissoko and Lucas Moura proving largely disappointing in the attacking areas of the pitch.

Bringing in Martial to complement Kane and Heung-Min Son, who has taken some of the goalscoring burden from the England captain, would make absolute sense. Also the reason it suits the United manager, according to our nameless caller, is that Tottenham have a player who United have made firm contact regarding before – Toby Alderweireld.

The Belgian is unsettled at Spurs after feeling unjustly treated by the club following his return from injury last November.

“Toby didn’t feel appreciated after his injury,” we were told by the individual, who claimed to be a senior employee at White Hart Lane. Using voice-altering technology to conceal their identity, the caller said the World Cup semi-finalist will only move to a team where he will be guaranteed a starting role.

United fit the bill perfectly.

Having so far failed to address his team’s defensive concerns, his previous signings Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof failing to meet expectations and Chris Smalling and Phil Jones lacking first team reliability, Mourinho is desperate to put things right. Despite recent links to Harry Maguire of Leicester City, it is Alderweireld who remains his first-choice target.

Up until now Tottenham have shown little interest in selling and have tried to scare United off with their high valuation of the player according to our source, who provided details of the club’s other dealings this summer.

However, the goalposts may well have moved given their interest in Martial, and we would not be surprised to see a deal involving both players swapping teams materialise between now and the 9th August.