Anthony Martial‘s pre-season turn around in form has been a breath of fresh air for Manchester United during the opening three games of the tour.
Martial came into the summer at his lowest ebb. Since the 2020/21 season began, Martial has scored just nine club goals.
Only two came last season, including one in an unhappy loan spell at Sevilla, which Spanish newspaper AS described as a ‘disaster’.
He had begun to look like a player United could struggle to offload, and he had lost his place in the France national team. So his sudden return to form has been a revelation, even if it is just pre-season, and Manchester United supporters are embracing it.
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Manchester United have nobody else, and Martial is stepping up
It’s easy to ask why United fans have done such a dramatic U-turn from practically giving up hope Martial could be a star for the club again, to hoping he will lead the line this coming season.
But this is reflected in his major swing in form, and most importantly, attitude. Rather than sulking about his predicament and career downturn which has him a risk of missing out on a second successive World Cup, Martial is showing some fight.
There is another reason United fans are embracing Martial too. There is literally nobody else left to play up front, and his contribution is very highly valued.
Edinson Cavani has rightly been released, Mason Greenwood is excluded from the team, and Cristiano Ronaldo appears to have decided to push for a transfer, and has not turned up to tour.
Ronaldo was the player United fans expected to lead the line next season, but he appears to lack the desire to, while Martial has stepped in.
There’s something to be said for a player who steps up in the club’s hour of need, and while that seems odd that it is in pre-season, United needed a striker to provide hope right now.
We all know Anthony Martial’s faults. He may wilt in the face of competition. His injury problems which ruined his Sevilla spell might strike. And he could find it a lot tougher in competitive games.
Effort goes a long way and Martial is appreciated
But United fans love a player who tries hard, and while this has been a regular criticism of Martial through the years, that he does not push himself enough, he is clearly working hard for the team right now.
Martial is buying into Erik ten Hag’s plans, forcing a goal against Liverpool with his press, and he is making the players around him better.
While Cristiano Ronaldo seemed to have the opposite effect last year, Martial is getting the best out of his teammates with his neat interplay and ability to hold the ball up.
Martial’s turnaround has come as a surprise too. Unlike Marcus Rashford who is more transparent on social media, and has been updating fans on his workouts in the off-season, Martial is far more mysterious and never really let on how he was feeling ahead of pre-season.
It was every bit as likely he would have sought a move and a fresh start this summer, and nobody would have blamed him. But he has returned with a gleaming smile, ready to go again and earn his money, and try and put Manchester United back on top.
His desire to play for the club and lead the line is in direct juxtaposition with Ronaldo angling for a way out.
Summer 2022 is turning into a tale of hope for United fans, and this was much needed. Seeing the trio of Martial, Rashford and Sancho performing together and scoring goals is the vision United fans hoped for back in 2020, and never got, with the Sancho signing delayed by a year. By time he arrived, Cavani had signed and Ronaldo was set to join, and Martial had become an afterthought.
Now the course has been corrected, and with a new manager at the helm, Martial is giving fans reason to be optimistic all over again.
United fans have seen pre-seasons become false dawns before, notably in 2014 under Louis van Gaal, and who knows how the Ronaldo situation will resolve itself. But Martial deserves credit for what he is doing right now and what he is bringing to the team, and he is giving Manchester United fans a reason to fall in love with him all over again.
Let’s hope it lasts, and is more than just a fleeting summer romance.
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