Anthony Martial must finally show consistency to revive Man Utd career after stunning pre-season form
ANTHONY MARTIAL has gone from being one of the few up for sale to one of the most impressive during Manchester United’s pre-season tour.
His inconsistencies over the last seven years sums up his time at Old Trafford.
But he has another chance to revive his United career under another manager, who is known for his possession-based style of play and to have the striker as the focal point of the system.
This is something that the Frenchman desires, to be at the heart of the team, using his technical ability to hold up play and bringing the wide players into the game.
He has shown that he has a really good understanding with both Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford.
There has never been a doubt of Martial’s capability, but more towards his mentality and how he has the tendency to allow matches to pass by without being a positive influence.
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Although he is to play up front under Erik ten Hag, he ranks in the 24th percentile for pressures, the 25th percentile for passes into the final third, and the 43rd percentile for shots on target.
That’s when compared to other attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe’s top five leagues over the last year.
He will have to improve massively in this aspect to stay in the starting line-up.
For sure, he did not reach the potential he was meant to achieve a couple of years ago, but the same goes for other players in Rashford, Paul Pogba and Luke Shaw.
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None of whom have been given the perfect environment and tactical setup to thrive within when playing under Jose Mourinho or Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
However, Martial deserves this chance to prove himself, his fifth and final chance to prove his critics wrong.
Ten Hag believes he is up to the task, as, alongside Donny van de Beek, his exit from the club has been blocked.
But if he fails this could be the last time he is playing at the highest level and at a big club.
The former Monaco and Lyon attacker must grab the opportunity with both hands, as the transfer market for strikers who are established and proven is limited.
This has resulted in the board and the manager focusing on other priorities.
Not only that, the likes of Darwin Nunez, Erling Haaland, Gabriel Jesus and Richarlison have already been snapped up by United’s rivals.
That should lead to the unsurprising outcome of the other sides outscoring Ten Hag’s team throughout the new season.
For him to take this chance effectively, Martial will have to provide a lot of runs and movements in the final third of the pitch whether he is on the ball or not.
This is something that is required when playing within a system set by Ten Hag.
If not then he could find himself shipped off, with Italian giants Juventus claimed to be admirers of the Frenchman.
Furthermore, Martial must show the ideal hunger and right body language when playing, as the terms “lazy” and “unmotivated” are used against him, by pundits and supporters.
Overall, he must perform and score consistently throughout the campaign, otherwise Ten Hag will have no problems in finding a replacement for him next summer.
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He is the type of manager who does not want to carry any passengers inside the squad.
That’s why he has not done everything in his power to ask Cristiano Ronaldo to stay, as he only wants players that will fight for him.
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