ONLY a brave man would bet on Anthony Martial staying at Manchester United much longer.
The France forward has just hit back at caretaker boss Ralf Rangnick’s claims he refused to travel and be available for Saturday’s draw at Aston Villa.
And as we move towards the end of the January transfer window, and with the likes of Juventus, Lyon, and Sevilla said to be interested in the out-of-favour star, it seems odds on that his Old Trafford days are numbered.
Since his £50million arrival from Monaco in 2015, he has had two decent seasons during his seven year-spell with the Red Devils.
Martial looked promising in his debut campaign, and in the 2019/20 term under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, where he bagged 17 goals in 32 league appearances.
During the Louis van Gaal era the Frenchman was seen as one of the team’s star men, with an incredible burst of pace and ability to take on players with ease.
But in 2022, Martial is well down the United’s front-line pecking order, behind the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Edinson Cavani and Mason Greenwood.
Here we look at where it all went wrong for the 26-year-old at the Theatre of Dreams…
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Nightmare period under Jose Mourinho
Martial’s downfall at Old Trafford began the moment Mourinho came in as boss.
The Special One is known to not like players with flair, and prefers to have ready-made individuals than developing talented youngsters.
Mourinho brought in the experienced Zlatan Ibrahimovic on a free, and it left Martial bench-warming.
Martial also had to cope with competition from new rising star Marcus Rashford, who had come through the academy ranks and instantly became a fan favourite.
And the final nail in the coffin was the arrival of Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal in 2018, as the under-whelming Chilean monopolised another forward spot.
But it was Mourinho’s style of play which really did for Martial.
It was completely different to Van Gaal’s counter-attacking philosophy, with Mourinho more focused on dominating possession and building out from the back.
That played a big part in the staggered development of Martial, and Rashford for that matter, who both looked on course to become world class before Mourinho took over in 2016.
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Martial’s lack of in-game presence and work rate
Things picked up for Martial when Solskjaer came in as boss, as he got regular game time and was played in his favoured No9 position.
He showed he could help bring others into the game and helped Bruno Fernandes, Rashford and Greenwood achieve good goal and assist returns.
But the Frenchman has not been able to show consistency and hunger to keep his position in the team ahead of the likes of Cavani and Ronaldo.
On top of that, Martial ruptured his knee ligaments in March 2021, which allowed Cavani to show why he is a more deserving starter.
Furthermore, the former Lyon and Monaco forward has been criticised for his lack of work rate and his knack of fading away in matches, especially when United really need him to provide movement and dribbling.
And although Rangnick has only been at the club for a little over a month, he is yet to utilise Martial within his 4-2-2-2 setup.
And that may not happen anytime soon as Rangnick expects his forwards to press with a proactive mindset and show zero weaknesses.
So Martial leaving United is probably in the best interest of all parties.
It will allow the player to try and revive his career in a new environment, and the any money generated from the sale will help United remodel their front-line heading into a new era.
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