Tottenham Reportedly Plan Talks with Manchester United for Anthony Martial

Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly set to intensify their pursuit of Manchester United star Anthony Martial and are planning to hold talks with the Red Devils over a possible deal for the Frenchman. 

According to the Daily Mail's Sami Mokbel, Spurs have promised manager Mauricio Pochettino they will secure his top transfer targets, and Martial is among them, so they're hoping to sit down with the powers that be at Old Trafford next week.

Pochettino is willing to "splash a significant percentage" of his summer transfer budget—which is said to be at least £100 million—on the Frenchman, but Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is expected to uphold his reputation as a tough negotiator.

The Red Devils signed Martial from Monaco in 2015 for £38 million, with a further £20 million included in add-ons, and they'll want as much as they can get for the 22-year-old.

Bleacher Report's Dean Jones believes they might struggle to recoup their outlay on him:

Martial hasn't quite kicked on as predicted when he initially impressed upon his arrival at Old Trafford; his consistency is one of the biggest issues, as Jones noted.

He bagged 11 goals and nine assists in 45 appearances last season but only completed 90 minutes on nine occasions. Toward the end of the campaign, he often found himself an unused substitute or left out entirely.

As a result, it wasn't overly surprising that he missed out on a World Cup place in France's squad, which has cast his future at United into further doubt.

ESPN's Alex Shaw is an admirer of Martial's talents:

While he is yet to realise his potential, he has the time to fulfil it.

Tottenham would appear a better place for him to do that at this point given Pochettino's track record with younger players such as Harry Kane and Dele Alli.

United should be fighting tooth and nail to keep him given what he could go on to achieve, though keeping him at the club if they're not going to help him do that is a waste.