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Manchester United have an opportunity to ditch Anthony Martial in a potential swap deal for Inter Milan left-back Federico Dimarco. The French forward’s contract is up at Old Trafford at the end of the season and the upcoming January transfer window represents the last opportunity to get a return on the Red Devils’ investment.
United will not be triggering the one-year extension in Martial’s contract as he has failed to win over Erik ten Hag and was heading towards a free transfer at the end of the campaign. However, Inter Milan have reportedly offered the 28-year-old an exit route that may benefit all parties in January.
Italian outlet La Gazzetta dello Sport claim that Inter view Martial as the perfect backup to Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram. They have set their sights on the dwindling United man and although he is available on a free transfer, one possible swap deal could see the Red Devils land one of their targets in exchange.
TEAMTalk state that United are keen on bringing Inter left-back Dimarco to Old Trafford, following injury concerns to Luke Shaw. A shortlist of targets have been drawn up by Ten Hag that includes the Italian, who particularly impressed on his side’s road to the Champions League final last season.
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Manchester United have been linked with a move for Inter’s Federico Dimarco. (Image: Getty)
Inter have been unable to agree a new contract with Dimarco and have since placed a £50million price tag on their star defender. United still have to consider Financial Fair Play regulations despite Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s arrival and cash injection, prompting fears that they will not be able to complete a deal for Dimarco.
However, knowing Inter’s interest in Martial, they could propose a swap deal that would help take some of the fee off of Dimarco – while extracting some value from their out-of-favour striker in the process.
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Anthony Martial is into his final season as a Manchester United player. (Image: Getty)
United would likely need to sign another striker to compensate for Martial’s departure, but various reports have claimed that is one of their January targets regardless of when Martial leaves Old Trafford.
One minor issue would be the muscle strain that Dimarco picked up during Inter’s Coppa Italia defeat to Bologna. He is reportedly targeting a return to action in January, but any setback could scupper plans to make an immediate impact next month should he be involved in a swap deal with Martial.
But United were prepared to sign Hojlund in July for £72m, even though he arrived with a back injury that kept him out of the Red Devils’ opening three games of the season. They may be willing to make a similar exception for Dimarco, if a swap deal can be reached with Inter.
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Source: https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1849330/Man-Utd-transfer-news-swap-Martial-Dimarco