Manchester United Transfer News: Anthony Martial, Ivan Perisic Swap Rumoured

Manchester United could reportedly set the wheels in motion to securing the signature of Inter Milan winger Ivan Perisic next summer by sending Anthony Martial on loan to the San Siro in January.

The Daily Star's Paul Hetherington reported Inter, who were said to be interested in Martial over the summer, have renewed their interest in the forward and want him on temporary terms in the winter.

ESPN FC's Dale Johnson confirmed in March UEFA's decision to abolish it's cup-tie rule, meaning Martial would be free to represent the Nerazzurri in the UEFA Champions League, even if he's already played for United in the competition this term.

Martial has played a total of 79 Premier League minutes this season from two appearances and has been routinely ignored by manager Jose Mourinho, who left him benched for wins over Leicester City and Burnley.

January signing Alexis Sanchez has instead been promoted as the left winger of choice since his arrival. Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News noted the Frenchman is now behind even some defensive team-mates in the scoring ranks this year:

Martial, 22, came to Old Trafford from AS Monaco for an initial £36 million in 2015 and has one year remaining on his contract, though the Red Devils retain the option to extend his terms by a further year.

A swap deal for Perisic, 29, is painted as the ideal solution as Mourinho looks to offload an asset he doesn't appear fond of, and in his place he gets his hands on a winger closer to his prime, which seems to fit his prerogative more so.

United have been associated with the Croatia star—who dazzled for his country en route to the 2018 FIFA World Cup final—for the past two summers, and sportswriter David Amoyal gave some evidence as to how Inter held on to their man:

There's, of course, the argument that Martial would be better-served leaving United to better his career, and the same is now being suggested for Marcus Rashford, 20, although he gets more playing time than the former.

There are suggestions the club's chief would be better off placing his faith in the more youthful Martial rather than winter arrival Sanchez, but Luckhurst recently argued otherwise: 

Whereas Martial is struggling to even feature this season, Perisic has two goals and one assist in four Serie A games this season. There is a question as to how much investment the player is really worth given he's set to turn 30 in February, however.

Hetherington noted the preferred method of Italian clubs to loan players first to try before they buy, but it seems unlikely United would entertain the idea of loaning 2015 Golden Boy Martial midway through the campaign.