Martial could face punishment at United
Frenchman, who was on AWOL, trying to force his way out of club
Anthony Martial could be disciplined by Manchester United after he went absent without leave following the birth of his son in Paris last week.
Jose Mourinho, his manager, says he has no idea when the striker will return to training and the Frenchman appears to be trying to force his way out of the club.
Martial has not trained for eight days in the middle of a pre-season designed to ensure he is match fit for the start of the Premier League season and there is confusion behind the scenes as to what he hopes to gain with this show of defiance.
Mourinho was expecting the 22-year-old to rejoin the squad in America when he gave him permission to leave last week. There has been no contact between manager and player since. Martial is keen to quit Old Trafford after spending much of last season on the bench, but United are reluctant to sell to another English club, even though there is interest from Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea. ■
Although United finished their United States tour with a 2-1 victory over European champions Real Madrid, Mourinho was distracted by questions around Martial’s absence.
In stressing that the team spirit and work ethic in the group had impressed him over the last fortnight, while thanking Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford for agreeing to return to training three days early, there was a pointed dig at the France international.
“My players [have been] amazing in their effort but we have more effort in front of us,” said Mourinho after goals from Alexis Sanchez and Ander Herrera secured the win over Real.
“We go to Munich in a few days and we start the Premier League in nine days.”