Anthony Martial could lose his place at Manchester United
Anthony Martial must improve his consistency and defensive contribution if he wants to keep his place in the Manchester United starting 11
Anthony Martial was a bright spot in what was a dark season for Manchester United under Louis van Gaal. He was so good that it’s almost unthinkable that he’d lose his place in the starting 11 next year. However, the arrival of Jose Mourinho as the Red Devils’ manager puts his spot in jeopardy.
Martial has all of the talent in the world. He’s a tremendously gifted offensive player who can create goals out of thin air. He may mistakenly think he’s a striker instead of a winger at times, but he can be forgiven for that minor flaw.
Almost all of the flaws in Martial’s game come at the other end of the pitch. He’s not exactly what you’d call a committed defender. His effort in his own half has been so poor that it’s difficult to tell what he’s actually capable of on that side of the ball.
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That’s the main reason why Mourinho’s arrival could put his status at United into question. The Portuguese manager has no patience for attacking players that don’t put in a solid defensive shift. All Martial needs to do is talk to teammate Juan Mata about what Mourinho thinks about so-called “luxury players.”
It would also be a mistake to assume that Martial must start because he is so much gifted than United’s other options at the moment. Mourinho arrived at Old Trafford with the backing of a massive transfer war chest. Quite a bit of money will be spent on bringing new attackers to the club.
It’s not out of the realm of possibility that Mourinho might buy a winger that has a more mature game than Martial. It may seem cruel to sit such a prodigious talent on the bench, but if United were able to bring in a superstar to play on the wing, it certainly could happen.
It’s also not inconceivable that teammate Marcus Rashford is going to see some playing time out on the wing this season. If, as expected, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is brought in to play striker, it’s going to cost Rashford some of his playing time. Mourinho may well choose to supplement Rashford’s time as a striker with a little bit of time on the wing as well.
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Under normal circumstances, there’s no way that a talent like Anthony Martial, coming off a season like he had last year, should be concerned about his place in the starting 11. However, if we know anything about Jose Mourinho’s managerial style we can safely assume that it won’t be business as usual. Martial must keep his nose to the grind stone if he wants to build off last year’s successful Premier League season.