Report Claims Spurs Were Scared Off Anthony Martial After Hearing Ed Woodward's Opinion

Tottenham Hotspur reportedly gave up on their pursuit of Manchester United's Anthony Martial due to interference from Ed Woodward.

The French forward was a target for the London side during the summer, with Jose Mourinho also believed to want him gone. Chelsea were also among the clubs interested, but the former Monaco man ended up staying at Old Trafford and has become an important player for the Portuguese manager.

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Martial found the target twice against the Blues this past Saturday to help United to a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge. That performance followed an important contribution in the remarkable comeback against Newcastle.

According to Manchester Evening News, Spurs' chairman made a call to last season's FA Cup finalists to enquire into the player's availability, but he was met with firm resistance from Woodward, who insisted that the player has the potential to become one of the best players in the world.

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Meanwhile, the Frenchman's showing on the weekend prompted high praise from Mourinho, who claimed the player is doing "different things" as of late.

“Anthony Martial is improving, he is doing different things than before,” the United manager said. “He is a more complete player than before but he needs to improve.

“He has a huge talent and he wants it, which is a good thing. The team as a team was really good.

“A fantastic match, a very undeserved result for us but that is football.

“We were the best team, even in the first half when we were losing. We were in control, tactically. The result is really unfair for us.”