Why a Martial/De Jong swap could solve Man Utd and Barca's problems in January

Stefan Bienkowski

Updated: 11 Dec 2021 11:21 GMT
7 min read

Anthony Martial and Frenkie de Jong — © ProShots

Anthony Martial’s time at Manchester United looks set to come to an end in the upcoming January transfer window.

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Earlier this week, the player’s agent confirmed that the France international had every intention of moving on from Old Trafford to find game time at another club.

However, rather than let this situation drag on and become a disaster, Ralf Rangnick & Co. could turn this into an opportunity and use Martial’s departure to bring in a useful new recruit in January.

Indeed, one of the clubs heavily linked with a move for the forward are Barcelona, who just so happen to have a central midfielder by the name of Frenkie de Jong - a player that has also been heavily linked with a move in the next transfer window.

And rather than letting either player move to different clubs, both sides may find a suitable solution to their problems by simply swapping Martial and De Jong in a few weeks time.

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A post shared by Frenkie de Jong (@frenkiedejong)

Why Man Utd need De Jong

Man Utd may no longer need Martial but if there’s one position they could certainly use some extra quality in it’s in central midfield.

The club are currently relying on Scott McTominay and Fred, while Paul Pogba recovers from injury and it seems almost certain that the France international could be set to depart at the end of the season anyway.

Rather than spend a fortune on Declan Rice or Jude Bellingham, Man Utd could take advantage of this situation and use Martial as a counterweight in a bid to bring De Jong to Old Trafford, who would be the perfect box-to-box reinforcement for Rangnick’s side.

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A post shared by Anthony Martial (@martial_9)

Why Barca need Martial

While Barca may not be over the moon with the idea of selling De Jong so soon after signing him from Ajax, it does seem as though the forward positions will take priority in the coming transfer windows.

It remains to be seen whether Sergio Aguero will be able to return to a playing role for the club, Ousmane Dembele has yet to commit his future to the Catalan side and Memphis Depay has struggled to fill the Lionel Messi shaped hole in attack.

Martial is certainly not Messi, but he is a proven goalscorer at the highest level and would bring a huge amount of experience and talent to a Barca front line that is seriously lacking firepower this season.