ANTHONY MARTIAL has reportedly rejected the opportunity to join Newcastle from Manchester United.
The French forward became world football’s most-expensive teenager when the Red Devils forked out an initial £36million to Monaco for him in 2015 in a deal that could rise to £58m.
The 26-year-old made a memorable start to life at Old Trafford and has gone on to score 79 goals in 268 appearances for the club.
But he has found himself on the fringes at United over the past year and he has started just two Premier League games this term and only two more in the cups.
That has led to rumours surrounding Martial’s future with Spanish side Sevilla linked with a loan bid while Barcelona were also said to be keen.
However, speculation has also been mounting that Eddie Howe’s Newcastle wanted to bring him to the North East.
The relegation strugglers strengthened their survival bid with the £12m signing of full-back Kieran Trippier from Atletico Madrid on Friday.
Defence remains Howe’s main objective in the transfer market but Callum Wilson’s injury has now led to him searching for attacking reinforcements.
But it seems that Newcastle will now have to look elsewhere, despite them willing to splash the cash to secure his services.
Spanish publication Sport have claimed that Martial has ‘no interest’ in signing for the Magpies.
And it even states that the star already ‘refused to sign’ for the Magpies after they tabled a £30m bid for him.
Now it seems that a move to Spain is Martial’s preferred option, with United boss Ralf Rangnick already admitting the ace wants out of Old Trafford.
He said recently: “He explained to me he’s been at Manchester United now for the last seven years and he feels it’s the right time for a change, to go somewhere else.
“I think in a way this is understandable, I could follow his thoughts but on the other hand, it’s also important to see the situation of the club.
“We have Covid times, we have three competitions in which we still have high ambitions and want to be as successful as we can be.”
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