Anthony Martial has one last chance to deliver at Manchester United
Man United have turned down £50m to keep Anthony Martial but the infuriatingly inconsistent striker MUST deliver the goals to justify this vote of confidence or risk becoming a THIRD-CHOICE forward at Old Trafford
- Manchester United have no intention of selling Anthony Martial this summer
- Inter Milan were reportedly lining up a £50m bid to replace Romelu Lukaku
- French striker has been handed a vote of confidence by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
- Now he must find a purple patch of form during the early weeks of the season
- Otherwise, Martial risk falling behind Cavani and Greenwood at centre forward
- United are also well-stocked for wide attackers, meaning he’ll be on the bench
So Anthony Martial will be staying at Manchester United for the season ahead.
Inter Milan were reportedly about to propose a £50million offer for the Frenchman, viewing him as a good replacement for Chelsea-bound Romelu Lukaku.
That Inter viewed the infuriatingly inconsistent Martial on an equal footing to the prolific Lukaku will have raised a few eyebrows among United fans but it’s a moot point. Martial won’t be sold.
Anthony Martial is back from injury and looks set to play a prominent part in the early season for Manchester United
The French striker celebrates with goalscorer Mason Greenwood during last Saturday’s 4-0 friendly win over Everton at Old Trafford
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s United won’t be selling Martial despite interest from Inter Milan
It’s a colossal vote of confidence in a forward who has blown hot and cold throughout his six years at Old Trafford and who was accused by Paul Scholes of ‘almost conning’ United and worried Roy Keane ‘by not looking like he loves the game.’
You get the impression that United are far from convinced too, given they’ve signed a player in Martial’s position in four of the six summer windows plus a January one since he joined from Monaco.
But more by accident than design, the 25-year-old will not only be United’s No 9 on the squad list this season but looks set to feature heavily. In the opening few weeks, at least.
Edinson Cavani, the 34-year-old who supplanted the injured Martial as United’s first-choice centre forward towards the end of last season, has been granted extra leave following the Copa America.
And Marcus Rashford will be sidelined until October after undergoing surgery to fix a long-standing shoulder injury.
It has been a tale of inconsistency and frustration far too often for Martial at Old Trafford
Martial tends to score goals in fits and starts, moving in and out of scoring form for United
Martial at United
2015-16
17 goals in 49 games
2016-17
8 goals in 42 games
2017-18
11 goals in 45 games
2018-19
12 goals in 38 games
2019-20
23 goals in 48 games
2020-21
7 goals in 36 games
TOTAL
78 goals in 258 games
So Martial has a good chance of being picked for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as either United’s centre forward or left-sided forward well into the autumn.
Just back from the ruptured knee ligament injury that curtailed his 2020-21 campaign and ended his Euro 2020 chances, Martial should be desperate to silence a few doubters.
But he must be in the last chance saloon at United. Having responded brilliantly to Solskjaer making him first choice centre forward in 2019-20 by scoring 23 times, Martial should have kicked on.
But last season was massively underwhelming even before that injury ended it in late March. Just seven goals in 36 outings simply confirming his inconsistent streak, to the frustration of fans and pundits alike.
Eye-catching performances such as in United’s 2-0 win over Manchester City on March 7, in which he won a penalty after 34 seconds, only serve to further irritate.
That came just a week after Solskjaer left Martial out of the team to play Chelsea at Stamford Bridge following a poor run of form.
Keane said on that occasion: ‘He doesn’t look like he loves the game, which is always a worry.’
Alongside him, Souness opined: ‘I think he’s a young man who has all the talent in the world to succeed at the highest level but will he be disappointed he’s not playing today?
‘Does he ever show he has a passion about the game or emotion about the game? He’s one of those players that will look back and think, ‘I could’ve done so much more.’
Martial played well against Manchester City back in March, winning an early penalty kick
But he was also sent off in United’s 6-1 defeat to Tottenham towards the start of the season
Martial certainly needs to be bothered against Leeds United in the Premier League opener this Saturday and in the weeks ahead because his status in the squad has diminished.
When everyone is fit and available, you can imagine a scenario where Martial is third-choice to both Cavani and Mason Greenwood at centre forward as well as below Rashford and even Paul Pogba – also staying put – on the left.
With Daniel James another option and new £73million arrival Jadon Sancho also capable of playing there, Martial could be seeing a lot of the subs’ bench. He just hasn’t scored regularly enough to nail down his position.
So Martial needs an electrifying start, to produce the kind of purple patch seen when he first arrived at United as a £58m teenager in September 2015 or, even better, the scoring form he managed to string out for all of 2019-20.
Edinson Cavani, 34, supplanted Martial as United’s first choice centre forward last season
Even if Cavani remains up top, Martial could play on the left with Marcus Rashford sidelined
Man United fixtures
All Premier League
Saturday Leeds United (H)
August 22 Southampton (A)
August 29 Wolves (A)
September 11 Newcastle United (H)
September 19 West Ham United (A)
September 25 Aston Villa (H)
United thought they’d cracked it at that point, only for Martial to begin the following season by getting sent off against Tottenham, scoring just four times before Christmas and then, shockingly, only three times in 21 games before his injury.
Martial ended up joint-fifth among United’s goalscorers, equal on seven goals with Scott McTominay. Yes, that’s Scott McTominay.
Scholes summed up the thoughts of many last October, saying: ‘Martial almost conned us into thinking he was a centre forward at the end of last season because he scored so many goals and was quite good.’
Cavani, a proper centre forward, has left Martial exposed with his own purple patch at the tail end of last season.
The Uruguayan last summer joined Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Romelu Lukaku, Alexis Sanchez and James in being signed, at great expense, after Martial’s arrival.
While a club like United will always need squad depth to compete on multiple fronts, this constant return to the transfer market doesn’t strike you as a firm belief Martial will become a club legend.
78 goals in 258 matches for United so far is a creditable return but you’re still left wanting more.
Solskjaer’s side have a favourable opening to the Premier League season and if Martial is to be leading their attack, we need to see him rattling in the goals.
Otherwise, they should have taken that £50m.
Jose Mourinho was far from convinced by Martial during his time as United’s manager
There have been bright points, such as Martial’s hat-trick against Sheffield United last season
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