Bookmakers have slashed odds on Anthony Martial leaving Manchester United before the closure of the transfer window .
Ladbrokes are now offering odds of 7/4 that Martial will no longer be a United player by February 1, while it is 5/4 that the Frenchman will be sold in the summer.
Martial joined United from Monaco in 2015 and made an instant impact at the club, but since the arrival of Jose Mourinho in the summer the 21-year-old has seen his gametime cut, most recently being left out of the squad for the draw with Stoke City last weekend.
The attacker has scored just twice in the Premier League this season, while he has created 13 chances.
Ladbrokes News’ Richard Marsh said: “There’s been a simmering tension been Jose and Martial all season, but after being dropped at Stoke, the Frenchman is nearer the exit than ever before.”
Martial’s uneasy relationship with Mourinho is under strain once again after the Manchester United attacker was axed for Saturday’s draw at Stoke.
Martial and his representatives are said to be upset that the France international was left out of the 18-man squad without explanation for United’s trip to the Potteries, with Mourinho responding to questions about his decision by saying tersely that the player ‘was not selected’.
Martial enjoyed a welcome return to form at the turn of the year, scoring in successive games against Middlesbrough and Reading in the FA Cup.
But Mourinho was understood to be unhappy with his performance against Liverpool’s teenage right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold when the two clubs drew at Old Trafford nine days ago and substituted Martial in the second half.
The 21-year-old winger has become a peripheral figure this season despite scoring 17 goals in his first campaign at United under Louis van Gaal following a £36million move from Monaco.
Martial was unhappy that his No 9 shirt was given to new signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and is also said to have become distracted by his marriage break-up.
His agent Philippe Lamboley suggested last month that Martial might be interested in a loan move to Sevilla in the January transfer window which brought a public rebuke from Mourinho who told the player to listen to him and not his representatives.
United are unlikely to entertain offers for Martial after selling Memphis Depay to Lyon. Another winger, Ashley Young, is attracting interest from three clubs, thought to be West Ham, Swansea and Watford.
Mourinho’s displeasure with the Stoke draw was said to be apparent at Carrington after seeing his team drop more points in the title race.
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