Man United forward Anthony Martial could only play for the first 45 minutes against AC Milan on Thursday before he had to be taken off with an injury but the Frenchman had yet another poor outing.
Last season, Martial managed to score 17 goals in the Premier League and he finally looked like the player who could play a proper centre-forward’s role at the club. But this campaign, his form has dipped once again as he has scored only four goals in 22 league matches so far. And according to pundit Ray Parlour, Solskjaer should consider cashing in on Anthony Martial as his inconsistency is proving to be a real hindrance for the club.
“He’s been at the club a while now, so knows what Manchester United is all about,” Parlour told on talkSPORT. “Sometimes he looks disinterested with football in general. When he comes on the pitch, you should be raring to go, trying to make an impact if you’re coming off the bench.
“He’s the sort of player if he’s left out his confidence level goes really down – I don’t know because I don’t see him on a day-to-day basis.
“It just hasn’t worked for him as a striker for Manchester United. Consistency is so important in football. If you’re going to be at the top of your game, you’ve got to make sure you’re putting in performances week in week out. He doesn’t do that.
“He can have a 9/10 then suddenly have two 4/10s. You aren’t going to win anything with a player like that in your team.
Solskjær on Martial: “Whack on hip. Another scan we need to look at. Don’t think he will be ready for Sunday. Edinson’s not [ready] for Sunday [either].’ #MUFC pic.twitter.com/FDfeUPAfJy
— United Zone (@ManUnitedZone_) March 11, 2021
“As much as Man City need a striker in the summer, they’d (Man United) will be looking and thinking ‘how much money can we get for him? How can we move him on? Let’s bring someone else in and give them an opportunity to play for Manchester United’.”
Anthony Martial has shown sparks of brilliance this season as well but more often than not, the Frenchman has gone missing. His performances have been so poor that Ole has had to rely on Edinson Cavani to play up front and had the South American not gotten injured, then Martial would have been warming the benches.
Solskjaer has time and again shown his faith in the 25-year-old but even the manager might have realised that he will need a top-class centre-forward if Man United are going to genuinely challenge for the Premier League title next season. But before the manager can risk cashing in on Anthony Martial, he will have ensure that he has a proper backup ready to come in.
