Jose Mourinho has issued a warning to Anthony Martial.
The Manchester United manager has told Martial that his performances must improve, because on current form it would “kill the others” to start the French forward.
The 21-year-old wasn’t included in United’s squad for the 1-1 draw against Stoke City last weekend, and has had a mixed season so far.
Martial has made 13 appearances in the Premier League, scoring twice, but has been inconsistent. He has evidently yet to convince his manager that he warrants an automatic starting role.
Mourinho has said that Martial is out of the team because of the strong competition for places, not down to the player losing focus.
“I don’t think he lost his focus,” Mourinho said ahead of the United’s EFL Cup semi-final second leg against Hull City.
“I just think he didn’t catch with both hands a big opportunity he had. When we spoke about Memphis Depay [leaving United] we spoke about it being the only position where we have an over-booking of players.
“We have still five players for this position. I cannot give one player chances to play and kill the others. To kill the others, I think I already did that with Memphis by considering him the last option and by not giving him any option.
But with the other guys I think you would be asking me why Mata is not playing or why Marcus Rashford doesn’t have a chance, or why Jesse Lingard, a national team player, is not playing.
“We have Rashford, Lingard, Mata, Mkhitaryan and Martial, and I cannot give the same player chance after chance after chance and not consider the effort of the others.”
Martial’s enjoyed a brilliant first season in England. The French forward joined United from Monaco for an initial £36m, scored on his debut against Liverpool and scored 17 goals in total.
He’s experiencing a difficult second season, but it would be foolish to write-off his chances of developing into a world class player, as he suggested he would do last season.
Gary Neville has also commented on the situation. The former United defender hopes Mourinho’s warning will act as motivation for Martial, who he believes has the potential to “become a very special player.”
He's only achieving a very small part of his potential. He ranges from sensational to disinterested . Let's hope he gets going now! https://t.co/fORTYlAx2Z
— Gary Neville (@GNev2) January 26, 2017
He has the talent to become a very special player. He needs to show his love for the game and display that in his performances. https://t.co/fORTYlAx2Z
— Gary Neville (@GNev2) January 26, 2017
