Anthony Martial. The 20-year old who took Old Trafford by storm last season, starting with a breathtaking Thierry Henry-esque goal against bitter rivals Liverpool in his first ever appearance for Manchester United. The French international went onto score plenty more important goals for the Red Devils, finishing as their leading goalscorer with 17 strikes. A silver lining from a dark cloud of a season under the then-manager Louis Van Gaal.
Fans adored him, loved him, expectations rose for the coming season after a scintillating debut campaign. Van Gaal was let go and in walked the mercurial Jose Mourinho. The Portuguese tactician has never had a good history of working with young talents and hence naturally, many feared for Martial’s future. And their fears are slowly starting to come true. The Frenchman has been in and out of the squad a lot and hasn’t made the similar impact that saw him become a superstar overnight last term.
Mourinho has afforded him opportunities but the youngster has failed to make the most of them and as a result, he has struggled to become a regular first-teamer. Martial has featured 21 times for the Red Devils this term, but has managed only 6 goals with just two of those coming in the Premier League. And as per latest reports, the manager is growing increasingly frustrated with the talented forward and is thinking about moving him on from the club.
Martial has had tough going this season, but United will be making a mistake if they decide to sell him. Here are three reasons why:
Martial’s Quality is Obvious
Yes, he hasn’t scored enough this season. Yes, he has found it hard to repeat his performances from last year. But Martial is a quality player and there is no questioning that.
One doesn’t walk into English football and score 17 goals in his first ever season, that too at an age of 19 years unless there is a ridiculously huge amount of potential and talent filled in him. There was a big pressure of the transfer fee, it was a completely new environment for him, but Martial proved his class and quality last term.
He’s still 20 and people tend to forget that he is young. All he needs at the time is a regular run in the team and a shot of confidence in his arm by the manager and things will start clicking. Martial’s a world-class forward, who is just going through a bad phase, and if United are patient with him, he will bounce back without a doubt.