Anthony Martial was the talk of Manchester United last season. But just one year later and the Frenchman is the talk of the transfer columns instead.
Anthony Martial is facing a fight for his future at Manchester United. Jose Mourinho is unconvinced by the winger and the Frenchman is now facing a battle to save his United career, according to the Mirror.
Martial was left out all together from United’s 18-man squad for the team’s draw with Stoke City last weekend. Reports in France suggest that Martial and his camp were distinctly unhappy with being completely omitted from the matchday squad.
Last season, Martial scored 11 Premier League goals in 31 appearances for his new club. This season, Martial has scored just two Premier League goals in 13 appearances. The campaign has clearly been a step back for the 21-year-old in his second year with the Red Devils.
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Which is normal, in many respects. That’s what young players do. Mourinho is always a manager to have his own take on things, and is never shy to back his own judgement. But allowing Anthony Martial to leave the club might be a little hasty were it to happen after one bad season.
Yes, Martial is not the player he was last year. But there are a number of factors that may have contributed to that. Firstly, Martial is young. The form of young players tends to fluctuate until they become more seasoned and level out. A down season shouldn’t be a surprise to anybody.
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Martial has had a lot of off-field issues to deal with too. You can call those issues self-inflicted, but they’re a huge distraction for a young player nevertheless. Martial is still only 21 years old. It’s easy to forget.
United haven’t exactly set the world alight as a team either. You can’t just single out Martial and say he’s the one guy not living up to expectations. Especially in attack where Zlatan Ibrahimovich has scored 14 goals this season.
And the next best after Ibrahimovich is Paul Pogba and Juan Mata on just four goals each. So Martial is not alone. Marcus Rashford and Wayne Rooney have also struggled to fully meet expectations and provide the goals.
And Mourinho has never been known as a manager that is particularly enthusiastic or eager to work with younger players. Perhaps the United boss feels his squad is young enough and one or two need to leave the club? Maybe one will indeed be Martial.
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And, of course, if Martial leaves the club and never fulfills his potential, then the United boss will be applauded. Or if these doubts surrounding Martial’s future actually fire him up and pushes him out of his current funk, then, again, Mourinho will get the credit.
But it’s hard to not think that Mourinho may well be being a bit too quick on the trigger if he is indeed already questioning Martial’s future at Manchester United.