Manchester United Transfer News: Anthony Martial Reacts to Latest Exit Rumours

Manchester United striker Anthony Martial has rejected rumours linking him with a move away from Old Trafford.

According to Simon Mullock of the Sunday Mirror, the France international felt he was the target for manager Jose Mourinho's criticism last week that his players "lacked a winning mentality."

However, Martial has appeared to rubbish rumours he could leave the club, via his official Twitter account:

Martial has struggled to cement a regular place in the United lineup this season and has only started nine matches in the Premier League, failing to make the squad on several occasions despite being available to play, per Transfermarkt.

His arrival from Ligue 1 side AS Monaco in a £36 million deal, potentially rising to £58 million with add-ons, made him the world's most expensive teenager in 2015, per BBC Sport.

Now 21 years old, Martial's frustrations this season are in stark contrast to his first campaign at United, where his strong running and direct approach saw him add a new, exciting dimension to the attack.

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He is blessed with great pace and is a real threat when facing up opposing defenders with his control and dribbling ability.

For his part, Mourinho has been honest about Martial's lack of impact since he took the manager's hotseat at the club.

"He has to perform better than the others who are competing for the same positions," the Portuguese said, per Paul Vinnell of Sky Sports.

When Martial has been used, it has generally been off the left flank, in support of Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

But as the Swede has grabbed the headlines with his goalscoring form, Martial has suffered and now arguably finds himself behind Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Juan Mata, Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard in Mourinho's thinking.

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It has been suggested that Mourinho's managerial style has not dovetailed with Martial's approach at Old Trafford.

As Miguel Delaney of The Independent, noted: "Clearly, Martial hasn't yet completely immersed himself in Mourinho's method of management in the way the Portuguese's best players have; in the way that has really fired Mourinho's best teams."

However, for a player with such wonderful potential, it appears inconceivable that Mourinho and United will not step up their efforts to get more out of Martial.

Mourinho's challenge will be to cajole the France frontman into becoming a more rounded performer, adding a touch more defensive discipline and work rate to his armoury, while not destroying his latent ability in the final third.

If he can achieve that, then United could end up with a player worthy of that potential £58 million price tag.