The revelation comes from Lorient sporting director Laurent Koscielny, the former France international centre-back, who described the sheer volume of offers the French club's technical staff had to sift through during the summer transfer window.
"I think we received between 400 and 450 player proposals during the market. There were, for example, quite a few former internationals in the mix, including Anthony Martial, yes. Some players who played for big clubs, others younger.
"We had to try to make the selection efficiently, but for our part we had precise ideas about the profiles we were looking for," Koscielny said.
Despite the approach, Lorient ultimately decided against pursuing a deal, opting to focus on other targets.
Martial turned down several options in Ligue 1 before settling on a return to Spain, and is now finalising talks over a move to Málaga in LaLiga. The move would mark a return to European football for the former Manchester United forward, whose career has taken him through Monaco, Manchester United and, most recently, Monterrey in Mexico, where his spell failed to work out as hoped.
For Málaga, freshly promoted back to the top flight, landing a forward with Martial's pedigree and Champions League experience would represent a notable coup, even if his best years are now some way behind him.
The move continues a pattern of clubs newly returned to Spain's top division looking to bolster their squads with experienced names as they prepare for the step up in quality.
Martial's career has followed an unpredictable path since his best days at Manchester United, where he arrived from Monaco in 2015 as one of the most expensive teenage transfers in football history.
Injuries and inconsistent form gradually eroded his standing at Old Trafford, leading to a departure and a brief, difficult spell in Mexico with Monterrey that failed to reignite his career.
A move to Málaga would give the Frenchman a fresh platform in a competitive European league, with the club's project offering the kind of stability he has lacked in recent seasons, even as the volume of interest reported by Koscielny underlines how far his stock has fallen from his peak years in the Premier League.