Anthony Martial is prepared to bide his time over his future at Manchester United after feeling emboldened by the club hierarchy’s refusal to bow to Jose Mourinho’s wishes to sell him.

Mourinho wants United to offload the France forward before the European transfer window closes this week to raise funds to reinvest elsewhere.

The manager has long been unconvinced by Martial and their troubled relationship hit a new low when the player was fined two weeks’ wages – about £180,000 – for leaving United’s pre-season tour of the US last month without the manager’s blessing to attend the birth of his baby son. But Ed Woodward, United’s executive vice-chairman, has been unwilling to grant Mourinho his wish over Martial in the belief that the youngster still has the talent to succeed at Old Trafford.

United are also thought to fear that Martial could go on to be a big hit elsewhere if they let him go. Martial, who is at risk of being dropped by Mourinho for the visit of Tottenham tomorrow, is understood to have been encouraged by the club’s stance, despite originally asking to leave Old Trafford in June.

Philippe Lamboley, Martial’s agent, had claimed then that United were not serious about keeping the forward after eight months of contract talks came to nothing. But Martial is aware of the power play going on behind the scenes and is likely to wait to see how the situation with Mourinho unfolds before making any decision over his future.