Reports: Manchester United to discuss a swap deal with Chelsea

What's the rumour?

Manchester United are not ready to bow out of the race to sign Willian just yet as according to The Mirror, the Red Devils are ready to offer Anthony Martial to Chelsea in a swap deal for Willian.

Jose Mourinho desperately wants to beat Barcelona to sign the Brazilian and is frustrated with Anthony Martial and believes that the swap deal will be an ideal solution to the problem.

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Manchester United haven't had an out and out right winger for close to half a decade now. Hence, this time around, they have been in the market looking for a good right winger. Willian was left frustrated at Chelsea under the tutelage of Antonio Conte and still looks likely to leave the club even though Maurizio Sarri has taken over.

Both the players are reportedly valued at £75 million, which is quite a blessing as far as the Red Devils are concerned.

The heart of the matter

Anthony Martial hit top form halfway through the previous season only to have his starting berth taken away by the new signing Alexis Sanchez. Martial's agent went public and stated that the youngster wants to leave Old Trafford.

But Martial returned for Manchester United's pre-season games only to leave for the birth of his child. However, he did not report back in time and received a fine for going AWOL. Though he showed up at training a couple of days back, he wasn't included in the squad that took on Bayern Munich yesterday.

While Maurizio Sarri insists that he wants to keep Willian, the Manchester United board is reluctant to sell Anthony Martial - that too to a direct rival.

But, Jose Mourinho seems to have had enough with the Frenchman.

Rumour rating/probability: 4/10

The Mirror isn't a great source for transfer news. United do not want to make the mistake of selling Martial to a direct rival. Chelsea wouldn't want to do it either after what happened with Nemanja Matic. A swap deal looks like the ideal solution on paper but it doesn't seem very practical at the moment with the transfer window closing within 3 days.

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What's next?

Anthony Martial has oodles of talent and his entire footballing career ahead of him. Willian will turn 30 in a couple of days' time. United should ideally persist with Martial and try to transform into a more focused individual than spend on someone who can, at best, give them 2 good seasons. This could come back to bite them in the back.