Anthony Martial’s agent reveals struggles with contract negotiations

Anthony Martial's agent Philippe Lamboley has revealed that he is very pessimistic about his client's ongoing contract negotiations going positively with Manchester United.

Martial signed for Manchester United from Monaco in 2015 for an initial fee of £36 million with the potential to rise to £57.6 million. United triggered a one-year extension on Martial's contract on Monday which should keep the French international at Old Trafford for at least another year, however, Lamboley said that working out a long term deal has proved to be much more difficult.

"I am very pessimistic about discussions going positively," he told RMC. "They've already sent us several offers that do not meet our expectations, starting on bases very far from our wishes. We are far from agreement for the time being."

Martial was fined a week's wages back in August after flying home from United's pre-season tour of the United States for the birth of his child Swan. Mourinho said that Martial should have returned to the tour after the birth of his child with the Frenchman later responding on Twitter with the message 'family comes first'. The forward started just one Premier League game through the first six games of the season but caught fire in October scoring six goals in five league games. His drastic improvement in form prompted Mourinho to state his desire to keep the 23-year-old at Old Trafford with the Portuguese manager stating that Martial is very close to becoming a top player.

"One thing is that he's a talented player that everybody knows he is, everybody knows since he was in Monaco that he is a talented player," Mourinho said last month. "Another thing is a talented player with consistency and understanding what a football match is in the globality. "When you reach that level, or when you are almost reaching that level, is when you become a top player. One thing is top talent, another is a top player. He is now much closer to being a top player. "Obviously I would like him to stay. I know the club wants him very much to stay. Hopefully he is going to stay."