Erik ten Hag and other Manchester United decision-makers will be aiming to strengthen the squad ahead of next season now that the 2022–2023 campaign has come to a close.
Anthony Martial’s future is one of the major issues up for discussion. Has his time at Old Trafford run out?
Martial has hardly played this season, missing six different periods due to injuries. But in his 11 appearances, he has contributed to six goals and two assists, which works out to little more than one goal per 122 minutes.
Things haven’t quite gone according to plan for the mysterious Frenchman since his arrival to United in the 2015–2016 season, despite initial signs of great promise.
Fans were encouraged by Martial’s early performance of 11 goals and 4 assists that season, but he drastically declined the next year, scoring just four goals and dishing out six assists.
He would total 14 goals and 12 assists over the course of the next two seasons, respectively.
An extended stretch of solid play in the 2019–2020 season, during which he scored 17 goals and provided six assists, ended the dry period. Again, after a promising start, Martial experienced a terrible downturn, scoring just four goals and dishing out three assists in 17 games.
This time, there were unmistakable mitigating circumstances because he was injured frequently throughout that particular season.
Having said that, there is an argument to be made for keeping Martial at Old Trafford, even if only for one more season.
According to the 2019–2020 season, Martial is a strong attacking threat when completely fit. The fundamental query is therefore, can Martial be kept in shape?
Despite the 27-year-old’s brief stints in and out of the lineup this season, where he hasn’t been particularly productive, he has demonstrated that his great link-up play fits Ten Hag’s style of play.
While he might not be the best choice to lead United to a title run, he can still serve as a quality backup to United’s star player, whoever he may be.
This season, United will almost certainly add a new, high-profile striker. Numerous times, the names Harry Kane, Victor Osimhen, and Randal Kolo Muani have been mentioned.
If any of these are signed, they will all likely cost a lot of money, hence United are unlikely to invest money on a second striker within the same transfer window. This implies that the team requires a dependable back-up.
When healthy, Martial has taken turns playing the position this year with Marcus Rashford, Wout Weghorst, and others.
Rashford clearly excels when playing on the left, and Weghorst hasn’t proven that he is up to the assignment after failing to register a single Premier League goal and appearing somewhat out of place.
Martial is the greatest choice to fill a backup position for anyone United signs during the summer, if he can stay healthy. Better still if he can recapture his form from 2019–2020.
