Key Stats
Name: Anthony Martial
Date of Birth (Age): Dec 5th, 1995 (24)
Signed: 1st September, 2015
Appearances: 222
Appearances this season: 47
Goals: 23
Assists: 12
Shots Per Game: 2.4
Pass Success (Avg): 80.4%
Contracted Expires: 30th June, 2024
Analysis
It’s been a fantastic season for Anthony Martial and you could argue it’s been a breakthrough season. Not necessarily for him as a United player because he’s showed glimpses of his brilliance during his five seasons at United, but definitely as the player who can spearhead United’s attack. With his 23 goals this season and his ability to link with the likes of Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood and Bruno Fernandes he’s shown he really thrives on leading United’s attack. Surely only the latter mentioned Bruno Fernandes could have arguably outshone the French striker this season. Having said that, in my opinion Martial should be United’s player of the season. Fernandes’s arrival in January elevated Martial’s performances. They have struck up a great partnership on and off the pitch and the Portuguese maestro has taken some of the creative burden away from Anthony and allowed him to play further forward and dominate opposition defenders.
It’s worth noting that Martial endured a frustrating start to the 2019/20 season. Struggling to play as a number 9 and injuries meant that it looked like it was going to be a difficult season for him. In the early stages of the season he didn’t look like he had the appetite, strength, game awareness and most importantly the volume of goals to lead United’s front line. Manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjær persisted with playing the Frenchman as a centre forward, most probably because like the majority of United fans, he preferred Rashford and Greenwood in the wide areas. Solskjær’s patience was rewarded though and now United look to have found an ideal number 9 for the system they play. The high point of Martial’s season came in the first home game after project restart, where he scored his first Manchester United hat-trick in a 3-0 win against Sheffield United. He then followed that performance up in the next game with a sublime finish against AFC Bournemouth in a 5-2 victory at Old Trafford.
Overall Season Rating – 8/10
Ambitions For Next Season:
The challenge for Martial is to repeat this great season in the next campaign and become a consistent performer for Manchester United for years to come. He needs to kick on now with his career and finally unlock his undoubted high potential. If United can sign their top targets in this transfer window, most notably Jadon Sancho then you would imagine the french striker will only get better playing with even better players.
There have been some real encouraging signs of a potent strike force developing at United between Martial, Rashford and Greenwood and next season United supporters would like to see more from the trio and Martial the senior of three at only 24 will have an important role to play in that. An increase in his confidence and consistency means he can help Greenwood develop in to a first team regular and help Marcus Rashford rediscover his form. From a personal point of view it will be interesting to see how many goals Martial might score next season especially if he stays fit and starts the season in top form and if he does so then in my opinion the sky is the limit for him.
