Anthony Martial: Manchester United forward signs new five-year contract
The 23-year-old appeared likely to leave United after falling out of favour under Jose Mourinho
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Your support makes all the difference.Anthony Martial has agreed a new five-year contract at Manchester United, bringing speculation over his long-term future to an end.
The 23-year-old forward signs up until 2024, with the club retaining the option of extending the terms by another year.
Martial’s previous Old Trafford deal was set to expire in the summer of the next year and United risked losing him in a cut-price deal this summer.
“I am loving my time at this club,” Martial said. “From the day I joined I have been made to feel part of the United family and I have been incredibly humbled and overwhelmed by the warmth and love of our fans, who continue to amaze me with their support.
“I would like to thank Ole and his coaching staff for their belief in me and for helping me to take my game to the next level.
“This club is all about winning trophies and I am sure the next piece of silverware is not that far away.”
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the United caretaker manager, said: “Anthony is one of those naturally gifted players that any coach would love to work with.
For a young man, he has a good footballing brain which, when coupled with his exceptional talent, makes for a player with an exciting future ahead of him.
This is the perfect club for Anthony to progress his development as a top-class forward and we are all delighted he has signed a long-term deal.”
The France international appeared likely to leave United last year – either for a fee or on a free transfer – after falling out of favour under previous manager Jose Mourinho.
However, since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s appointment as caretaker, Martial has become a regular starter once more and a key member of the squad.
Negotiations between the club and Martial’s representatives have dragged on for months and, while Mourinho was at the club, chances of a deal being struck appeared to be slim.
As late as December, Martial’s agent Philippe Lamboley claimed to be “very pessimistic” that a deal would be done, adding that the two parties were “far from an agreement”.
After progress in talks over the past few weeks, however, a new five-year contract has now been signed.
Having secured Martial’s long-term future, United will now look to tie down goalkeeper David de Gea to a new deal.
De Gea’s existing terms expire in the summer of 2020 after United triggered a one-year extension in his contract in November.
Solskajer recently said that the club was “making progress” in negotiations with De Gea and Martial, though the Norwegian is not directly involved in talks.
“I think the club is making progress but I leave that to the right people to do that,” he said.
“I don’t really know how far away from it [we are] but hopefully we can have some good news in the coming weeks.”
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