Manchester United are reportedly ready to dispense with the services of Anthony Martial in the summer and Tottenham Hotspur have been linked with an ambitious swoop for the Frenchman.

The forward - valued at £58.5m by Transfermarkt - has found gametime hard to come by this season, especially since the arrival of Alexis Sanchez in January.

Popular forward Marcus Rashford is in a similar predicament but has greater loyalty to his local club so the conclusion has been that Martial will be the one to depart Old Trafford in the summer.

But would it be a good fit for Tottenham? Martial clearly has the talent and potential to be a hit at Spurs but we've decided to take a look at the bigger picture at the club right now to examine the impact his rumoured arrival would have on the situation in North London as it stands...

Consequence 1 - Erik Lamela leaves the club

Martial does not have an obvious place in the best Spurs eleven, although he might fancy his chances of displacing Son Heung-min, but his arrival would surely push Lamela even further down the pecking order.

With Lucas Moura also bought with next season in mind, suddenly Pochettino would have injections of pace on the bench ready to change a game. The need for Lamela would be diminished.

The Argentine's work-rate and ability to rile rival players had endeared him to some fractions of the Spurs faithful but he is simply not the flair player that they thought they were getting to replace Gareth Bale.

Martial's arrival could well spell the end for Lamela.

Consequence 2 - Fernando Llorente barely plays

Buying a back-up striker to Harry Kane is an incredibly difficult task. Anybody of sufficient quality will not willingly move to spend most of their time on the bench so Pochettino is stuck shopping for players around Llorente's level.

The arrival of Martial would be the perfect solution to the problem. Like Son, he is comfortable playing in another position, where he will pick up most of his gametime when Kane is fit, but Martial is a more able frontman if required.

Martial's dynamism and youth puts him on a different plane to Llorente and he would provide a viable alternative to Kane if the situation demanded it.

Consequence 3 - Spurs can play 3-5-2 or 4-4-2 as and when they want

Spurs switched between a three-man and four-man back four with greater regularity last season and that flexibility has always been a key part of what Pochettino has tried to do there.

He stunned Real Madrid in the Bernabeu by playing Kane and Llorente in a front two and caused enough problems to win the game on another night. If Martial was fielded alongside Kane, the duo could form a frontline to trouble defences at home and abroad.

Kane was even fielded in a withdrawn number 10 role in the second half at Brighton and having the option of playing Martial through the middle might make that switch a more regular occurrence.

Pochettino wouldn't use it every week but it would be another string to the Tottenham bow.

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