By Mark Weasley
The summer of 2015 saw the arrival of a teenager that most fans in the English fans knew little about, but a £36m move announced him to the fans and media, and what he did on his United debut was indeed reminiscent of legends at Old Trafford.
Signed on the deadline day of August, the 19-year-old emblazoned with the No. 9 jersey on his back, had his first taste of English football by scoring a fantastic goal against bitter rivals, Liverpool.
Taking the ball on the left hand side of United’s attack, he danced his way through the Liverpool defence, who were left mesmerised by his skills and dribbling prowess, and before they could blink, the ball was in the back of the net, in a way reminiscent of Thierry Henry.
He faded out in the second half of that season as Marcus Rashford became a top dog, and was shunted wide, yet he performed well in the semi-finals in the FA Cup against Everton, with the English giants ultimately winning the trophy.
His second season was dominated and overshadowed by Zlatan Ibrahimovic, with the charismatic Swede taking over his jersey and being number 1 striker at the club.
He scored 8 goals from the wings as United won three trophies, but Martial wasn’t a major part of those triumphs as he lost the trust of his manager due to his lack of form and confidence as a result of issues with his personal life.
During the holidays, he has looked like a man reborn, with pictures of him smiling. Martial is a player that people forget is still only 21, he needs a manager that will be a friend to him, and that can only help him.
He scored in 5-2 win over LA Galaxy, and can be a viable option to Romelu Lukaku when the chips are down, as he offers something different to the Belgium striker.
Martial still has a lot to learn, and should he leave on loan, United stand the risk of losing him permanently. It would be a great mistake. He can’t become bad all of a sudden.
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