Anthony Martial’s career at Manchester United looks as good as over after his latest injury which will keep him out for several weeks.
Manchester United have announced Anthony Martial has undergone an operation on his groin and will be out of action until April.
There is a distinct possibility the striker has played his last ever game for the club, with supporters fed up of his injury problems.
Manchester United have been stuck with Anthony Martial in recent years, due to an extended contract he signed in 2019.
Anthony Martial signed five-year deal in 2019
Manchester United have been struggling to offload Anthony Martial for two seasons now. The club loaned him out to Sevilla in January 2021, deeming him surplus to requirements at the time.
His loan spell at Sevilla was a disappointment, impacted by injuries, and the Spanish side were not interested in signing him permanently.
Manchester United had to settle for an initial loan due to Martial’s sky-high wages. He signed a deal in January 2019 with wages in excess of £200,000 per week.
At the time Manchester United were fearful of losing Martial on a free transfer the following year, believing he was a special talent who had been mishandled by Jose Mourinho.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was the interim Manchester United manager at the time, and he posed with Martial when his new deal was presented to the media.
Manchester United had faith in Anthony Martial
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer spoke highly of Martial, telling club media that the Frenchman had an ‘exciting future’ ahead.
Solskjaer said: “Anthony is one of those naturally gifted players that any coach would love to work with. For a young man, he has a good footballing brain which, when coupled with his exceptional talent, makes for a player with an exciting future ahead of him.
“This is the perfect club for Anthony to progress his development as a top-class forward and we are all delighted he has signed a long-term deal.”
For one season, it worked out. Martial scored a career best 23 goals in 2019/20, before reverting to being the inconsistent forward we have become more familiar with.
In the ensuing four seasons, Martial has not matched that figure. He has scored 19 goals for Manchester United since the start of the 2020/21 season.
Martial, and his former manager Solskjaer, would point to his injuries as one reason for his downfall, and that’s correct, but there is also a realisation that he simply failed to kick on after his early promise under the Norwegian.
Manchester United wanted Martial to become a world class striker. But that’s just not who he is. It will soon be time to draw a line under this chapter and move on, it’s well overdue.
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