Reports: Manchester United winger eyeing an exit from the team

What's the story?

The Mirror reports that Manchester United winger, Antony Martial wants to quit the team amid feelings that his career is not progressing at the Theatre of Dreams.

The Frenchman is out of contract at the end of the season with reports emerging that he has no intention of staying any further. However, the Red Devils do have an option to trigger a 12-month extension to his contract, but that is to ensure he doesn't leave for free.

In case you didn't know

Antony Martial signed for Manchester United in 2015 after spending a couple of seasons with Monaco. His initial transfer fee of £36 million was the highest for any teenager in the history of football.

Martial justified his value with an immediate impact scoring on his debut against the arch-rivals Liverpool in front of the Stretford End. Under Louis Van Gaal, he was United's highest goal scorer and also won the Premier League Player of the month award in his very first month.

The heart of the matter

Martial's form dropped once Jose Mourinho took the managerial reign from Van Gaal. His off-field distractions didn't help his cause either. Antony found himself warming the bench in most of Mourinho's first season.

Jose did give the Frenchman a chance to prove himself at the start of the second campaign, and he didn't disappoint at all but soon inconsistency crept in and the arrival of Sanchez in January more or less ensured Martial would not be getting enough chances to start a game.

Martial left in the middle of the preseason in this campaign for personal reasons which didn't go down well with the manager who was ignorant of the winger's return date. He made several appearances from the bench this season without making any substantial impact adding to the disappointment of the manager.

Rumour Rating - 7/10

Martial's situation is a bit complicated at the moment with the Frenchman reportedly being one the players who are not happy with Jose Mourinho's tactics and would want to quit Manchester United unless a new manager comes in.

What's next

The Frenchman is one of the most skilful players United has in their ranks and letting him go will be a significant loss of talent. However, there is still some time left before the end of the season, and the board might be hopeful they can come up with an agreement for the youngster.