Anthony Martial could be the player to take Manchester United’s attack to the next level

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Anthony Martial returned to training for Manchester United on Monday, after a month out with injury.

Seeing Martial back on the pitch with a smile was a welcome sight. He has already suffered three separate injuries this season and has barely got started.

Despite this, Martial has been among Manchester United’s most productive players this season.

He has five goal contributions (three goals and two assists), a figure bettered only by Christian Eriksen (7) and Marcus Rashford (10).

It is remarkable he has had this kind of impact, considering he has only started one game, in which he came off injured after 26 minutes.

Martial could take United’s attack to the next level

Manchester United’s defence has been very impressive over the past few weeks, with five clean sheets in the last six games.

The midfield has been strong too, United are dominating games. The trouble is, the team have not managed to score the goals to reflect this.

So far this season, United have managed only 17 goals in 12 Premier League matches.

This ranks ninth best in the league, five fewer goals than Fulham have scored. Among the teams above United in the top four, Manchester City are highest with 37, and Newcastle are lowest with 24 – still substantially higher.

United need a fix for this, and Anthony Martial has the potential to be the solution.

The pieces are in place. Marcus Rashford, Antony, Jadon Sancho are all good players, Cristiano Ronaldo is a modern legend. It just hasn’t clicked yet.

Anthony Martial’s return could be the key to United making progress, whether it is an instant fix or not.

Martial showed in pre-season how effectively he can work with the rest of the team’s forwards, and his connection with Marcus Rashford is well established.

It’s unclear if Martial will be travelling to Spain for the Real Sociedad fixture, let alone starting, but in the following games against Aston Villa and Fulham, he will hopefully be ready to make an impact.

Martial will then get the winter break to refresh, work on his fitness, and come back leading the line for United.

His injuries will have killed off his hopes of a France recall – and with Cristiano Ronaldo and probably Marcus Rashford heading to the tournament, he will be United’s freshest forward when the Premier League resumes – so it is crucial he stays fit.