Martial set for bigger role at Manchester United in response to Chelsea interest

It was only a day or so ago that Chelsea had reportedly entered the chase for Manchester United attacker Anthony Martial, who’s supposedly grown tired of the short shrift he’s gotten from José Mourinho over the past couple seasons. However, according to reports since, such as this one from the Daily Mail, Mourinho may have a plan to appease Martial, as well as fellow underutilized young player Marcus Rashford.

The plan involves ... wait for it ... actually playing the players! Genius!

Mourinho’s apparently banking on Martial’s “desperate” desire to continue playing for Manchester United, as well as the opportunities Lukaku’s current injury and future World Cup involvement will provide. Lukaku and his bum ankle are set to be rested until the FA Cup final in a couple weeks, while his presumably key involvement for Belgium at the World Cup could mean a slower start to next season.

Fortunately, that doesn’t sound like a plethora of opportunities, so Martial may yet deduce that he would get more playing time at Chelsea ... or Spurs, or whoever else he may get linked to in the next few weeks.

Plus, as we know all too well, Mourinho often fails to fulfill promises of playing time for young players, so perhaps he will keep alienating Martial to the point where his stay at United will become untenable. Chelsea may still get screwed over at that point by Mourinho, who’s a firm believer of not selling to rivals ... unless Martial does a Matić?