Manchester United maybe did not win against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday and maybe it was hurtful to concede after 95 minutes of play, but they did get a positive thing out of that match. It is Anthony Martial. It is simple to praise the Frenchman on the back of a match in which he scored a brace and brought Man United to life, but that is just the latest reason.
If you have been following us in recent weeks, you must have seen us claiming Manchester United need to give more chances to Anthony Martial. At the Bridge, the Frenchman took care of two chances and converted them both, making a complete turnaround in that clash.
And that is what Man United really need from their first choice wingers. To take the match by the neck and decide it. It is what Eden Hazard did for Chelsea against Liverpool this season, though the Belgian was unable to replicate that against a successful gameplan Jose Mourinho made.
What Should Manchester United Do?
Manchester United should offer Martial a new contract. It should be an improved one, but not drastically, as there is still a lot he should prove over a longer period of time. Martial should by no means be let go and he is the kind of player Man United can get a lot out of. He is about to turn 23 and now might be a good time for United and Mourinho to give him more chances and longer spells in starting XI. His development is not over.
Martial, funnily enough, managed to hit double digits in a domestic league in his career just once. He scored 11 goals back in 2015-16 Premier League, when he was still 20. But in that season, Van Gaal gave him enough playing time – some 2600 minutes in Premier League. Under Mourinho, in the first two seasons, he always got around 1500 minutes. Sure, there are other competitions too, but over 38-match season you see the best how much someone had played.
Martial had two seasons – one of them at Monaco – where he scored nine league goals, though his last one has been the best one in terms of goals and assists in all competitions. He is the player that can score 15-20 league goals per season and someone who can also assist plenty of goals. You could build future around him and several other players in the coming years.
What Manchester United Should Not Do?
We established that Manchester United should not let Anthony Martial leave the club. That is really simple and Man United would be foolish to do otherwise. Alexis Sanchez has not really proved himself since joining from Arsenal and with him approaching 30 and never really settling in, it is hard to be too patient.
Especially when Sanchez’s playing time on the left flank most of the time means blocking Martial’s playing time. There is still enough competitions to juggle between the two, but after the Chelsea match, it is Martial who needs to get a run of matches. A careful and thoughtful process behind the scenes could get the best out of Martial and his best should be far better than all we have seen from him so far at Manchester United.
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