North London club Tottenham Hotspur are set to begin talks with Manchester United over a summer move for unsettled winger Anthony Martial, according to reports.
Several clubs have registered their interest in signing Martial, with his future at Old Trafford under the current manager far from clear.
Man Utd signed Martial from Monaco in 2015 for an initial £36million but boss Jose Mourinho has shown a lack of faith in the Frenchman over the past two years.
January signing, Alexis Sanchez, has not helped Martial’s cause and he is now being strongly linked with a departure during the summer transfer window.
Both Chelsea and Arsenal are huge admirers of the player but the Daily Mail say the Spurs are front runners on the queue and are ready to begin negotiations with United chiefs.
Mauricio Pochettino put pressure on Spurs’ board to sign his top transfer targets last month and he will expect the club to deliver after signing a new five-year deal and snubbing interest from Real Madrid.
Martial was left out of France’s squad for the 2018 World Cup meaning a deal could be finalised swiftly if the two clubs agree on a fee.
That is no guarantee, however, as United will hope to recoup the majority of the money they spent on Martial three years ago and Daniel Levy is a fierce negotiator.
Tottenham have improved under Pochettino but he expects to spend around £100m on signings this summer to take the team to the next level.
Spurs finished third in the Premier League last season – above Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal – and were knocked out of the Champions League by Juventus.
