It would appear Manchester United have been handed a massive boost in their pursuit of Erling Haaland.
Reports suggest Borussia Dortmund have identified Anthony Martial as a possible replacement for the Norwegian superstar, who they accept they will lose at some stage.
Martial has fallen down the pecking order at Old Trafford, where Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has a number of top-drawer wingers at his immediate disposal, the Mirror reports.
The Red Devils would seemingly be open to the idea of parting company with the Frenchman if it means they could sign Haaland in return.
Dortmund have not spoken out on their plans to one day replace Haaland.
But Dortmund have now been linked with Martial and according to German publication Sport1, he would be available to sign for around £43million.
Should United get the full amount for Martial, then they will effectively only have to part with £25million to trigger Haaland's release clause, which comes into play in 2022, to begin talks with the forward.
One possible problem for United is the fact that Martial is Red Devils co-owner Joel Glazer's favourite player at the club.
Former United boss Jose Mourinho previously attempted and failed to sell Martial two years ago precisely for this reason.
Mourinho was hoping to raise money from the sale of Martial to generate funds for Ivan Perisic, but Glazer refused to part company with the forward.
According to the Evening Standard, Glazer once compared Martial to Brazilian legend Pele and believes he has the potential to be a world-class operator despite his career never quite taking off for United.
Whether Glazer would stand in Solskjaer's way remains to be seen.
But the Norwegian has plenty of time between now and next summer to speak to the United co-owner and convince him that a transfer for Haaland would make more sense than retaining Martial.
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