Why a swap deal involving Martial and Willian could work wonders for both Chelsea and Man United
There are murmurs of a possible swap deal involving Manchester United’s Anthony Martial and Chelsea star Willian in the summer. Martial, who has fallen out of favour at Manchester United under Mourinho, missed out on a place in France’s World Cup squad.
Willian, on the other hand, has worked with Mourinho before at Chelsea, and the Portuguese manager wants to reunite with the Brazilian. Mourinho is trying to raid his former employers again after signing Nemanja Matic from Chelsea last summer.
So, let’s assess the situations of the two players and see if a swap deal would work for all the parties involved.
The scenario
Martial
Manchester United had to shell out an initial £36m to sign Martial from Monaco in the summer of 2015. The Frenchman has managed to show his quality in patches at Old Trafford.
But he has struggled for game time under Mourinho, who restricted Martial to just 18 Premier League starts last season. However, the 22-year-old scored nine goals and set up five more in 30 league appearances in the 2017/18 campaign.
Martial often found himself down the pecking behind the likes of Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard and Alexis Sanchez last season, and a move away from United could help him to revive his career.
Willian
Willian also struggled for game time last season as he managed just 20 Premier League starts. The Brazilian winger has a fractious relationship with Chelsea boss Antonio Conte, who is close to heading out of Stamford Bridge.
Willian, who scored 6 goals and provided 8 assists in 36 league games in the 2017/18 campaign, would relish the prospect of reuniting with Mourinho at Old Trafford.
Moreover, joining Manchester United would give him the chance to feature in the Champions League next season as Chelsea missed out on a top-four finish last term. Mourinho is the one who brought Willian to England after signing him from Russian outfit Anzhi Makhachkala for £30m during his managerial stint at Chelsea.
The Verdict
It appears that both Willian and Martial are misfits at their respective clubs and a swap deal could prove to be good for all parties involved.