The attacker’s effective output against Nottingham Forest continues a trend that could point to his best role under Erik ten Hag.
after his return against Nottingham Forest on Wednesday.
The truth is, it may be Martial who is glad to see Rashford – the England hero has set up his teammate for three of his six goals this season. Nevertheless, it’s a sentence that encapsulated the mood of the whole of the club towards both the Frenchman and Sancho, who came on alongside Martial and Rashford just past the hour for his first appearance since October.
The front three who starred in pre-season are back and raring to go again (Image: Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)
They sparked a reaction from a cumbersome United side who had been suitably frustrated by Forest for 73 minutes of their League Cup semi-final second leg meeting. Wout Weghorst held the fort well during his five matches in Martial’s absence.
He grabbed his first Reds goal in the first leg and came close to doubling his account when his header crashed off the post in the first-half in the reverse meeting. But within ten minutes of his re-introduction at Old Trafford, Martial showed why he is the club’s number one striker.
Rashford’s lay-off allowed the attacker to fire home his first goal of 2023, ending a month-long drought. The barren run was largely down to yet another injury that forced him off at half-time in the 2-1 win over Manchester City.
That was his fourth setback of the season and so United have drawn up a list of potential summer striker targets in the hunt for a reliable marquee asset.
Harry Kane, Victor Osimhen and Portugal World Cup hat-trick hero Goncalo Ramos make the cut. Erik ten Hag is a big fan of Martial but he knows his injuries would cost United in the long run if he was to remain as the main striker.
The 27-year-old has missed 19 games through being sidelined this season and has failed to see out a 90 minutes in any of his nine starts. The other six, therefore, have come from the bench and his display against Forest continued a noticeable trend.
Martial looked threatening when he came on as he beat away at tired legs and sore minds. Just two of his goals have come when he has been named in a starting line-up whereas he has grabbed four goals and two assists when coming off the bench.
It seems as though these shorter bursts of game time are benefitting his efficiency. In fact, it may be his best role going forward beyond this season in Ten Hag’s rebuild project.
The club will be expected to recruit a natural, proven goal-getter in the summer with hopefully the lure of Champions League football. But given Ten Hag’s feelings towards Martial, it would be an error to think the striker will be offloaded as a result.
That said, the player should not expect to be the main man up top anymore – but that could benefit him. Branding him in the same category as a Divock Origi is probably bordering on insulting and he would play much more of a role than that.
But for the most part, Martial looks best coming on during the second half to quake the knees of tired defenders. It would also reduce the risk of frequent injury for the forward while also taking the pressure off of him to get the goals.
It would furthermore provide better competition and it would be up to him to step up, which would only enhance the overall quality of the strikeforce. For now, he is first-choice striker, but that may not be his best role going forward.
Raphael Varane changed his Manchester United future with shock and emotional announcement
Man United’s Raphael Varane made a major, surprise announcement on Thursday that will affect the longevity of his career.
Varane has retired from international football. (Image: MUTV)
A few days after the World Cup final in Qatar, footage of Raphael Varane in France’s dressing room emerged on social media.
The footage, which showed the defender commanding the dressing room’s attention and giving a rousing speech to his teammates, quickly went viral and it only increased the calls to see Varane made club captain at Old Trafford, instead of Harry Maguire.
Argentina defeated France on penalties in the final of the World Cup in Qatar and Varane played 113 minutes in that match. He collapsed to the floor in exhaustion when finally leaving the pitch in extra time and he returned to the bench knowing his body had given everything. Varane has always seemed to give everything when representing his club or country in his career.
Manchester United had two defenders, Varane and Lisandro Martinez, in the World Cup final and only one could win the trophy. It was Martinez that enjoyed victory, but the pair shared an embrace on the pitch after the full-time whistle regardless.
Varane is a classy operator on and off the field and the leaked footage of his dressing room presence, his exhaustion in the final and his embrace with Martinez despite defeat highlighted the type of player the club were lucky to sign in August 2021.
There is a school of thought that Real Madrid don’t allow elite players to leave the club and the suspicion was that Varane was too injury prone in his first season in Manchester, but he’s established himself as United’s finest centre-back this term.
Varane has developed a formidable partnership with Martinez, helping his side record the joint most clean sheets (16) from Europe’s top five leagues, and his performances have been exceptional at the heart of Erik ten Hag’s defence.
Although he’s been sidelined for 28 days with injury this season, that is a significant decrease from the time he was sidelined last year and he made a surprise announcement on Thursday that should improve his luck with injuries in the future.
Varane won the 2018 World Cup with France (Image: Getty Images)
That’s because, after a decade of service to his country France, Varane announced his retirement from international football with a heartfelt farewell, in which he wrote on social media: “Even after the defeat in the final last year, with certainly a great run, you welcomed us as heroes when we returned. To each and every one of you, a thousand times THANK YOU!
“I will miss these moments with you for sure, but the time has come for the new generation to take over. We have a group of talented young players who are ready to take over, who deserve a chance and who need you.”
Varane won the World Cup in Russia in 2018 and he’s made a total of 93 caps for his country, some of which he wore the captain’s armband in, whilst he also started in France’s major final defeats at Euro 2016 and most recently at the World Cup in Qatar.
He has been a colossus in defence for France, but his retirement from international football allows him to prioritise United and the decision will also allow him to spend more time with his family and his two young children, Ruben and Anai
The player has retired from France duty aged just 29 years old and it’s undoubtedly a positive for Ten Hag that his best defender will be rested during the international break, especially considering his previous history with injury.
Varane is currently in his prime years and he’s contracted at Old Trafford until 2025. Without the added commitment of playing for France, the centre-back will be completely focused on United and that has the potential to be huge.
He is a serial winner and he’ll be hoping to win multiple trophies before the end of his contract at United.
Source: manchestereveningnews.co.uk
