If there’s one thing that Jose Mourinho appears to have lacked during his managerial career, it’s patience with young players. The Portuguese’s trophy haul and history of success isn’t anything to be sniffed at, but all too often, it appears as though the self-branded Special One lacks the flexibility to allow younger, more raw attacking players to make a name for themselves in his sides. Mo Salah and Kevin De Bruyne are two examples where the former Chelsea boss has sold promising talents that have flourished elsewhere, and there’s a fear amongst the ranks of Manchester United that history might be about to repeat itself.
Anthony Martial couldn’t have had a better start to life at Old Trafford. The Frenchman, a deadline day arrival from AS Monaco in 2015 came on as a substitute and scored a wonderful solo goal against Liverpool in front of the Stretford End, and his 17 goals that season pointed towards the emergence of an exciting, gifted talent in the club’s ranks.
Whilst it would be excessive to say that Martial’s struggles for form and consistency have been purely down to Mourinho, the odds on him staying at the club have differed over the past month, check this out if you are looking for the best odds. The manager has clearly less of a willingness to indulge in his young attackers, and has publicly criticised him and Marcus Rashford at points during these last two years.
Depending on how you want to look at it, news that United will not entertain the idea of selling Martial to Tottenham Hotspur in any kind of swap deal for Toby Alderweireld (via ESPN) is certainly comforting. The idea of Martial potentially flourishing at a Premier League rival is hugely unpalatable, but the report then goes on to state that United would listen to offers should the French international push for a move. Having missed out on Didier Deschamps’s squad for this summer’s World Cup, one wonders if Martial has grown weary of life at Old Trafford, and might fancy a move abroad to reinvigorate his career. Time will tell.
In recent interview, Paul Scholes said this about Anthony Martial:
“I’d like to think he’d stay, he’s a young player and he’s still got time to develop,’
“Whether his manager quite fancies him I’m not too sure about that at the minute, he’s not shown too much confidence in him.
“He needs a consistent run of games, he’s coming in and every time he comes on he impresses me – he’s a player I’d like to have in my team.
“I just hope he’s not one of those players that leaves and then we see the best of them. There is a danger.”
