Gary Neville has questioned the hunger and attitude of Anthony Martial after his matchwinning display against Tottenham.
Martial scored a late winner as United kept in touch with rivals Manchester City at the top of the Premier League with the gap remaining at five points after Pep Guardiola’s men subsequently beat West Brom.
With his winner against Spurs, Martial has now scored four goals from four substitute appearances this season, although he has been less effective when he has named in the starting XI.
It seems that manager Jose Mourinho is keen to rotate Martial and Marcus Rashford, with Romelu Lukaku as the spearhead of the attack.
Neville has told the Sky Sports Premier League channel that the Frenchman has all the required attributes to go to the top, but wants to see him produce it on a regular basis.
“It’s been a stop-start Manchester United career for Martial,” Neville said in the immediate wake of United’s win on Saturday.
“For someone of his talent, he should be tearing this league apart with his ability. He’s lost his place in the France squad – there’s obviously something wrong with him.
“Mourinho and the French manager has turned off of him a little bit. You always get the feeling he’s playing at 85 per cent. If he showed that extra 15 per cent, then he could do anything. He’s got everything you’d want: composure in front of goal, great skill, pace, strength, but what is that little bit missing?
“The best players in the world don’t have ‘but’s’ – the likes of Luiz Suarez, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi – there are no buts. Martial is well off that category but that’s where he’s got to be looking. He’s worth £50million and with that talent, he’s got to step up. He scores in big games, he takes big moments on and obviously has the temprement to play in big games. But come on, let’s see it every single week.
“He could be a player that could score 20 goals in 20 games if he really wanted to and strived to be the best.”
OPINION
United are desperate for Martial to deliver the goods on a regular basis, but he has developed at a snail-like pace since his sensational transfer from Monaco in the summer of 2015. The 21-year-old has most of the attributes needed for a top-class striker, bar perhaps the main one. Does he have the desire to be one of the world’s best in the world? The jury is out, and his matchwinning display against United does not change that. He should be producing it on a far more regular basis.