Manchester United striker Anthony Martial wants to leave the club, his agent said. The 26-year-old is yet to feature under new interim manager Ralf Rangnick and has started only twice this season, scoring once. 

“Anthony wishes to leave the club in January,” his agent Philippe Lamboley told Sky Sports. 

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“He just needs to play. He doesn’t want to stay in January and I will speak to the club soon.”

Rangnick had said that the Frenchman had picked up a minor knock in training last week. Ahead of the side’s Premier League game against Norwich United, the German manager said, “With Anthony, we’ll wait and see. It’s a question of pain and how tolerable the pain will be on his knee but, for tomorrow, he won’t be one of the players who is available.”

Martial has fallen down the pecking order since Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho arrived at the Old Trafford this year. 

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“We have to make sure players want to stay here,” he said. “If players are not getting enough game time it might make sense to speak individually. Loan might make sense for some,” Rangnick said. 

He further revealed he had a 15-minute telephone conversation with Paul Pogba this week. The French midfielder is due to return from a thigh injury and is currently rehabilitating in Dubai. 

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“He is getting better but it will be another couple of weeks before he can train again and another couple of weeks after that to get him match fit,” said Rangnick.

Meanwhile, Norwich was facing “a couple of COVID-related issues” ahead of their game against Manchester United, manager Dean Smith said Friday. The relegation-threatened team played Tottenham on Sunday before the north London club announced a coronavirus outbreak among players and staff that has forced the postponement of two games.

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Two Norwich players have undergone additional COVID-19 testing, though Smith said he doesn’t think the scare stems from the Tottenham match.