Three Reasons Why Manchester United Should Not Sell This 20-Year-Old At Any Cost

Anthony Martial. The 20-year old who took Old Trafford by storm last season, starting with a breathtaking Thierry Henry-esque goal against bitter rivals Liverpool in his first ever appearance for Manchester United. The French international went onto score plenty more important goals for the Red Devils, finishing as their leading goalscorer with 17 strikes. A silver lining from a dark cloud of a season under the then-manager Louis Van Gaal.

Fans adored him, loved him, expectations rose for the coming season after a scintillating debut campaign. Van Gaal was let go and in walked the mercurial Jose Mourinho. The Portuguese tactician has never had a good history of working with young talents and hence naturally, many feared for Martial’s future. And their fears are slowly starting to come true. The Frenchman has been in and out of the squad a lot and hasn’t made the similar impact that saw him become a superstar overnight last term.

Mourinho has afforded him opportunities but the youngster has failed to make the most of them and as a result, he has struggled to become a regular first-teamer. Martial has featured 21 times for the Red Devils this term, but has managed only 6 goals with just two of those coming in the Premier League. And as per latest reports, the manager is growing increasingly frustrated with the talented forward and is thinking about moving him on from the club.

Martial has had tough going this season, but United will be making a mistake if they decide to sell him. Here are three reasons why:

Martial’s Quality is Obvious

Yes, he hasn’t scored enough this season. Yes, he has found it hard to repeat his performances from last year. But Martial is a quality player and there is no questioning that.

One doesn’t walk into English football and score 17 goals in his first ever season, that too at an age of 19 years unless there is a ridiculously huge amount of potential and talent filled in him. There was a big pressure of the transfer fee, it was a completely new environment for him, but Martial proved his class and quality last term.

He’s still 20 and people tend to forget that he is young. All he needs at the time is a regular run in the team and a shot of confidence in his arm by the manager and things will start clicking. Martial’s a world-class forward, who is just going through a bad phase, and if United are patient with him, he will bounce back without a doubt.

United’s Philosophy of Blooding Youngsters

Manchester United, as a club, have an amazingly glorious and rich history. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that they have been the biggest club in the world for a good part of the last two decades. And what has been an integral part of that unrivalled domination was the blooding of the youth.

Over the years, the Red Devils have always backed budding talents to succeed and more often than not, have reaped the rewards of that backing and confidence shown in youngsters. The entire of Class of 92, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney all young talents who went on to become club legends. True, there have been some failures, and true that Martial isn’t in that bracket of superstars yet, but he is extremely talented and has shown what he can do if stuck with.

Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku – Prime Examples

Jose Mourinho, throughout his career, has always been accused of not backing young talent enough. The Portuguese may refute that claim, but it isn’t completely wrong. While he is an amazing coach, no doubt, Jose seems to lack the patience with youth. And he has, in the past, lost his patience and made some knee-jerk decisions, which have been proven utterly wrong later.

The best examples are Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku. During his second spell at Chelsea, Jose grew similarly frustrated with the Belgian pair and decided to ship them off from the club. But look where they are now. Lukaku is one of the most feared strikers in the Premier League and Kevin De Bruyne, arguably, is the best attacking midfielder in the game currently.

Martial may not be finding it easy to adapt to his style and philosophies, but hopefully, these past experiences will serve Jose as a reminder and he will persist with the Frenchman.