John Murtough has reportedly told Erik ten Hag to make use of Anthony Martial this season so Manchester United can focus their funds on recruiting elsewhere.
The French forward scored in United’s 4-0 win over Liverpool in Thailand on Tuesday, Ten Hag’s first game in charge of the club.
READ MORE: De Jong chase and Ten Hag autonomy exposes Manchester United’s transfer failures
The Frenchman joined United for £58m from Monaco in the summer of 2015 and has scored 79 goals in 269 appearances for the club, winning the FA Cup, Carabao Cup and Europa League in the process.
But he has struggled for form and consistency in recent seasons, spending the second half of last term on loan at Sevilla and ending that campaign with two goals in just 23 appearances in all competitions for United and the La Liga side combined.
Reports have claimed United would look to ship him out again this summer, either on loan or in a permanent move.
But talkSPORT (via Mirror) now claim Martial is set to get his chance to impress under Ten Hag this season.
That’s because United chief Murtough has told Ten Hag the club do not have the funds to sign new forwards as they focus their summer transfer kitty on more pressing areas of weakness in the squad, meaning the Dutch boss must attempt to get the best out of Martial.
Meanwhile, Barcelona have told Frenkie De Jong that they want him to leave them for United, as they need to balance their wage bill, which is causing complications when it comes to registering incomings like Raphinha.
The report says he Catalans are now working to convince the 25-year-old that moving to Old Trafford ‘would be the best move for his career’, insisting his departure is due simply to their economic strife.
The situation is complicated by Barcelona owing De Jong a deferred salary payment of €17million, with a further report claiming the Dutchman ‘wants the issue completely clarified, and if it is not done so to his satisfaction, he is content to defy any attempt to sell him and stay.’
The Athletic claim it’s unclear whether De Jong will travel with the Barcelona squad on their pre-season tour in the US, adding that the La Liga giants are desperate to get the deal signed as they’re aware ‘they know it won’t be there forever’.
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