Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has backed Anthony Martial to become a better player during the course of the 2017/18 season.
The France international had a stunning first season under Louis van Gaal in 2015/16 where he bagged 17 goals across all competitions. However, he struggled to repeat a similar performance under Mourinho last term with just eight goals – although he did celebrate an EFL Cup and Europa League double.
Martial enjoyed his first pre-season with United earlier this summer where he contributed a goal and three assists, and he continued in a similar vein last weekend as he found the scoresheet as a substitute in the 4-0 win over West Ham United.
Speaking to MUTV, the Special One has expressed his faith on the young forward, who he expects to improve on his performances from the previous season. Meanwhile, the manager also insisted that Martial is a good player on the attack front, and he was in the market for a recruit, who could suit his three-at-the-back formation.
“I have faith in him. Probably, the player I was looking at [in the transfer market] was not a pure winger, because I have pure wingers. The player I was looking for would allow me to play three at the back and do the wing-backs. As a pure attacking player, Martial is a good player,” he said.
“He is one of the players who will have a better season than last season. I look at my players and I am sure some will be better than they were last season, and Anthony is one of those, for sure.”
Manchester United will start their European campaign from the Champions League group stage this season, and Mourinho believes that the exposure of the tournament would benefit the progress of the likes of Martial, Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford.
Be the first to comment