When Manchester United signed Anthony Martial in the summer of 2015 for a then-record of 60 million euros for a teenager, the expectations were undeniably great on the player to deliver. Back then, the Frenchman was still 19 and at the end of 2015, he was named as the winner of the Golden Boy award. So to go from such a start of his senior career to where he was last year, at the age of 26, shows just how complicated it can be to live up to the high expectations at such a young age. Because Anthony Martial these days is far from the player everyone expected he would become in years to come. Now seven years have passed since Martial left Monaco and moved to United and the player seems to be at the lowest point of his senior career.
Appearances across all competitions
Last season has seen Martial get loaned out for the first time since he joined United. After getting just eight Premier League appearances, two in the Champions League and another one in the League Cup, it was obvious United were not going to offer him much playing time in the second half of the season. The Frenchman had fallen out of the top picks for the attacking positions, something that the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo only further complicated for Martial. The club decided to loan him out and Sevilla took upon that chance. But his time in Spain was equally fruitless. Nine matches in La Liga and three in the Europa League had brought out just one goal and one assist from Martial. But that was not the greatest problem – his performances were not good enough and he had constant niggling injuries to keep him away from the pitch. Sevilla were not impressed and decided to not try to keep him around for next season.
Did he perform above or below the expectations?
This was clearly a season in which Martial played below the expectations. In fact, this was a season which has left everyone at Old Trafford confused – what to do with Martial? Should the club keep him and try to give him the fighting chance under Erik ten Hag? If he does not come through, then that will be at least another six months without the performances everyone expects of him. If he is to go out on loan or be sold, who would be coming in for Martial? Who would be ready to pay and would the player be interested in making the move? It will not be an easy summer, but this past season has left Martial in a kind of a limbo. His confidence is shattered and his performances on the pitch are unimpressive and untroubling for oppositions.
Will he be a part of Manchester United during the 2022-23 season?
It is a tricky question. At this point, it seems like Martial could stay and get a chance to prove himself to Ten Hag. But it is hard seeing the Frenchman hitting the necessary heights for him to become a regular.
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