Manchester United have left for their final pre-season match in Germany – and Anthony Martial is nowhere to be seen.
There is continued speculation that the French youngster could be sold before the end of the transfer window on Thursday.
And there is even suggestions that the former Monaco striker could even join tonight’s opponents Bayern Munich – in a shock swap deal for Robert Lewandowski.
France international Martial left United’s pre-season tour of the United States with three matches remaining to attend the birth of his newborn son, Swan, in Paris last week.
Martial returned to United’s Carrington training complex on Thursday after failing to report for over a week and suggested his partner Melanie da Cruz had been unwell, report the Manchester Evening News.
However, photographers did not spot him arriving at Manchester Airport with the rest of his teammates on Sunday morning.
Martial’s agent clarified in June the forward wants to leave United and Jose Mourinho is open to selling him, however the club hierarchy is reluctant to cash in on a young talent United invested up to £58million in three years ago.
Another player who wants away from Old Trafford, Matteo Darmian, is included in the squad.
World Cup trio Marcus Rashford, Victor Lindelof and Phil Jones have returned to the United squad for the trip to Munich after they were unavailable for the five-game tour of the States.
When Mourinho was asked the France international’s future following the Tuesday night win over Real Madrid in Miami, he suggested club press officer Karen Shotbolt speak on his behalf.
"Anthony Martial? Is better for Karen to answer if she wants to answer," Mourinho said when he was asked whether Martial would link up with his teammates. She replied: "We’re here to talk about the game."
Martial said on Wednesday: "Thank you all for your posts. My little Swan is fine, for the mom it was harder but thanks to God she’s better now. Sorry but my family will always come first… Back tomorrow in Manchester."
Mourinho dug out Martial in Ann Arbor last week by insisting the £44million signing ‘should be here’ to participate in the latter part of United’s five-game pre-season tour of the United States.
"My players, amazing in their effort," Mourinho said after the Real Madrid game. "But we have more effort in front of us. We go to Munich in a few days and we start the Premier League in nine days.
"These are the players that we have, plus Lindelof, that started training two days ago, plus Marcus Rashford, Jones and Lukaku, because they gave to the group and to the team three days of their holidays, so they’re coming back three days early to try and be available for the team.
"And with the fantastic spirit we have in the majority of the players, I repeat: In the majority of the players, we have a fantastic spirit, we go with everything we have to the Premier League."
Mourinho has taken teenagers James Garner, Tahith Chong and Mason Greenwood to Munich and pledged his commitment to the United academy in midweek.
"The young players have to play with the young team, that’s where they play week in, week out," he explained.
"The good young players are too young, we don’t have good players of 20 or 1-years-old like, for example, Real Madrid have. Our good players are young, they are 16, 17, 18, they have to play in their league, training with us, like they had a wonderful experience."
United squad to take on Bayern Munich
David de Gea, Lee Grant, Matteo Darmian, Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Axel Tuanzebe, Victor Lindelof, Eric Bailly, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Demetri Mitchell, Luke Shaw, Fred, Ander Herrera, Andreas Pereira, Scott McTominay, James Garner, Juan Mata, Marcus Rashford, Alexis Sanchez, Tahith Chong, Mason Greenwood
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