(Football news) Reports earlier this week linked the Argentine centre-back with a move to the Bernabeu, given their troubles at centre-back this season.

Carlo Ancelotti has seen the likes of Eder Militao, David Alaba and stand-in Aurelien Tchouameni miss significant chunks of time, with the former two still out with serious knee injuries.

After missing out on Leny Yoro in the transfer market over the summer to Manchester United, Real did not pursue any other targets and ultimately have left themselves light in that department.

The arrival of Yoro could be a factor in Martinez leaving for Real though, if he is deemed a suitable enough option to replace the defender in the long term at Old Trafford.

Manchester United willing to sell Martinez?

New manager Ruben Amorim is expected to put his stamp down on the Manchester United squad, with numerous incomings and outgoings expected, and one could include Martinez.

No move is set to materialise until next summer at the earliest, but multiple reports claim that the club are possibly willing to cash in on the 26-year-old.

Martinez has only been at Old Trafford since 2022, when he made the move from Ajax for north of £50m, but injuries have greatly reduced the impact he has made since the big-money move.

Despite winning a trophy in both seasons at the club, Martinez has missed large periods since moving to Manchester, and he only featured in 11 league games last season as the club failed to finish in the top four.

That has also seen him lose his place in the Argentina side, with Nicolas Tagliafico preferred at left-back and Cristian Romero and Nicolas Otamendi ahead of him in the centre.

Why would Manchester United be willing to sell Martinez?

Playing in 12 of Manchester United’s 15 Premier League games so far, Martinez has not exactly covered himself in glory, like most of his teammates, with Erik ten Hag receiving the sack back in October.

Since Amorim’s arrival, not much has improved, with the Red Devils suffering back-to-back defeats to Arsenal and Nottingham Forest.

Martinez came in for criticism for Forest’s first goal on Saturday, being convincingly beaten in the air by Nikola Milenkovic, who headed the visitors ahead inside two minutes.

There was also a lack of communication for Chris Wood’s goal in the second half, with Martinez letting the ball pass him on the goal line to nestle in the bottom corner and ultimately put the game out of reach.

The Manchester United faithful will hope to see an upturn in form from their £50 million defender when they travel to rivals Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday.

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