Gianluca Di Marzio confirms Juventus want Anthony Martial on loan | OneFootball

Reports of a loan deal taking Manchester United’s Anthony Martial to Serie A side Juventus are accumulating thick and fast, with one of the world’s most renowned transfer gurus now claiming the deal could be on.

As we reported here yesterday, the Old Lady are looking to strengthen in attack in the January transfer window after losing Federico Chiesa for the rest of the season with an ACL injury.

Martial’s name has been linked with the role for some time, but sometimes it has appeared to be little more than speculation; pacy forward/winger needs a loan move, Juve looking to replace pacy forward/winger for the rest of the season.

However, when Gianluca Di Marzio reports a story, it usually means that there is meat on the bones.

‘Juventus, the Martial idea is staying alive,’ the tier one reporter wrote.

‘The close contacts with the French striker’s agents continue.

‘Juventus remain vigilant to opportunities for a striker on the market.

‘The Bianconeri always have Anthony Martial in their sights.

‘For the team coached by Massimiliano Allegri the Frenchman’s name remains hot, they are keeping the direct line with his agents constantly open despite the fact that there have been no decisive steps forward.’

With Sevilla also still actively pursuing a loan deal for the Frenchman and seeking an option to buy, competition is starting to hot up.

The option to buy clause could be a stumbling block given the difficulty in establishing the player’s true value. United have been reported to be seeking close to the £50 million they paid for him seven years ago, whereas the buying clubs might expect to pay significantly less than that amount.

Another issue is whether Martial’s £250,000 per week salary can be matched, either on the loan itself or in the event that the buy option is activated.

Because of such complications, for United it is looking increasingly as if it could be the end of the window before anything is finalised, leaving them little time to put the money to good use in terms of investing in a midfielder.