Martial to be hit with fine
from DAVID McDONNELL in Miami
ANTHONY MARTIAL will be fined for failing to train since leaving Manchester United’s US tour.
Martial left midway through the tour for the birth of his second child, but angered boss Jose Mourinho by not returning for the final two games.
The forward has not been at United’s training ground since the birth of his son a week ago, leaving the Frenchman facing disciplinary action.
United do not believe Martial has trained for the past eight days and are ready to hit him with a £180,000 fine – two weeks’ wages.
Mourinho wants to offload Martial, with United wanting £70m.
After United ended their tour with a 2-1 win in Miami over Real Madrid, Mourinho was asked if Martial would be leaving.
Mourinho dodged the question, saying: “Anthony Martial, is better for Karen [United’s press officer] to answer if she wants to answer.”
The United boss was pressed on whether Martial would be part of his squad when they returned to Manchester but he would only say: “I don’t know.”
Deadline
Mourinho is convinced he will be able to sign only one player before the transfer deadline a week today, with £65m-rated Leicester and England defender Harry Maguire the most likely arrival.
Mourinho revealed Romelu Lukaku, Marcus Rashford and Phil Jones are cutting short their post-World Cup holidays by three days to return.
But the United boss made no mention of his other World Cup stars still on holiday – Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard, Ashley Young and Marouane Fellaini – making the same gesture.
Mourinho spoke of the fantastic spirit in the “majority” of his players, clearly a pointed reference to Martial.
“We start the Premier League in nine days,” said Mourinho. “These are the players that we have, plus Victor Lindelof, who started training two days ago.
“Plus we have Rashford, Jones and Lukaku because they gave to the group and to the team three days of their holidays, so they’re coming back to try and be available for the team.
“They’re not prepared, but they’ll be back, and that’s the spirit we need, because our first two or three weeks in the Premier League are going to be really hard for us.” CHELSEA starlet Mason Mount has a platform to push for a full England call-up, according to Frank Lampard.
The new Derby boss has taken the exciting 19-year-old midfielder on a season-long loan from his old club.
Mount, an England Under-19 international, impressed on loan at Dutch club Vitesse Arnhem last season with nine goals.
It led to him training with England’s senior side before the World Cup.
Lampard said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for him to really show the world, and England, what he can do in the Championship.
“I’m aware that they’re aware of him. I know he trained pre-World Cup with the squad.
“I know Steve Holland (England’s assistant boss) pretty well. I speak to Steve and I know he’s on the radar, so now it’s up to him.
“This is why this is such a good platform for him because we are always crying out in England for talented midfielders that can link play, are intelligent and score goals.
“Mason can have a big future. He can offer Derby a lot and I think we can offer Mason a lot as well.
“This is a great platform for him to play. At this club he’s going to get the pressure of 30,000 people at home games and travelling round in a difficult Championship, so that’s great grounding and work for him.
“What he can bring us is good quality and energy.
“And I know that Mason has the right mentality, which is another one of his massive strengths.”