Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick revealed that one player refused to travel with the squad for their game against Aston Villa.
United looked to be much improved on Saturday, compared to the listless performances against Villa last Monday that somehow saw them get through to the FA Cup 4th round.
Bruno Fernandes struck in the first half, thanks in part to Emi Martinez's poor goalkeeping, before the Portugal midfielder made it 2-0 in the 67th minute, which itself was somewhat against the run of play.
Rangnick changed things up with Anthony Elanga replacing Marcus Rashford, from the team who played on Monday, and was without Cristiano Ronaldo as well.
The United boss named two goalkeepers on his bench and was also a player short and after the game revealed that was due to Anthony Martial's refusal to join the squad.
"He didn't want to be in the squad," the former RB Leipzig boss said when asked about the French forward's whereabouts, "He would have been in the squad normally, but he didn't want to.
"That is the reason why he was not travelling with us yesterday."
Martial is unhappy with life at Old Trafford and wants to leave the Premier League club in the January transfer window, but has so far not got his move.
The 26-year-old has reportedly been subject of a loan offer from La Liga side Sevilla, but United were unhappy with the amount of his wages being covered by the Spanish side.
Another report claimed that Newcastle United wanted to sign the former Monaco forward, who had a Ballon d'Or clause in his move to United that looks even more hilarious by the day, but the striker turned down the move.
Rangnick has enough problems in his squad without having to worry about a player who refuses to travel with them, even if it was unlikely he'd even had made it onto the pitch.
Despite taking a 2-0 lead in the game, Rangnick's side were unable to wrap up all three points, with Steven Gerrard's side mounting an impressive comeback.
First Jacob Ramsey continued his impressive form under the new boss by pulling one back in the 77th minute, before an inevitable goal for Philippe Coutinho.
The former Liverpool forward made his Villa debut off the bench, after his loan move from Barcelona, and the Brazilian equalised in the 81st minute for a well deserved point.
Topics: Manchester United, Premier League, Ralf Rangnick, Anthony Martial, Aston Villa
Ryan Sidle