Anthony Martial feels ‘unloved’ at Man United and will only start scoring again if Ole Gunnar Solskjaer assures him he’ll play more often, says Teddy Sheringham, as French striker falls down Old Trafford pecking order
Anthony Martial ‘is feeling unloved’ at Manchester United and the striker’s performances are suffering as a result, according to Teddy Sheringham.
The £60million France international has yet to score for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side this season after being demoted down the attacking pecking order at Old Trafford.
Martial has always blown hot and cold since signing for United in 2015 and could increasingly be a bit-part player with Edinson Cavani, Mason Greenwood and Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of him.
Anthony Martial has yet to score for Manchester United this season after the France striker fell down the attacking pecking order at Old Trafford
Martial can’t convert a chance during last week’s Carabao Cup defeat to West Ham United
United find themselves in a rut after three defeats in their last four games in all competitions
But United legend Sheringham believes Martial will rediscover his best form if he feels a little more appreciated.
‘It’s similar to Harry Kane and Tammy Abraham, centre-forwards need to be loved,’ Sheringham told Sportsmail.
‘If you’re not feeling loved and appreciated, if you feel you have one chance to do well in the Carabao Cup and if you don’t you’re not going to get anywhere near the Premier League games, it does put pressure on you.
‘Tammy has gone to Roma and Jose Mourinho has said “go in there and if you miss chances, you’re not going to be out the team straight away.”
‘It gives you a relaxed time. Footballers need to be relaxed and cool in front of goal, not snapping at chances.
Former United striker Teddy Sheringham believes Martial needs to ‘feel loved’ to perform well
Sheringham cited the example of Tammy Abraham, in form at Jose Mourinho’s Roma
Sheringham believes Martial needs to feel more love from manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
‘When you are loved by a manager, you have that feeling. Martial obviously isn’t getting that at the moment because there are other players at the club in front of him and you feel like you have to snatch chances when you can.’
Martial has played only 190 minutes of football for United so far this season, starting just one Premier League and one Carabao Cup match.
Former United striker Dion Dublin said Martial’s ‘body language is horrible to watch’ as he failed to make much impact during their Carabao Cup defeat to West Ham last week.
Dublin said: ‘I want to see him sweating and putting the ball in the back of the net. He has not done enough since being at United, you see flashes and think it is the start then he doesn’t do anything.
Edinson Cavani has moved ahead of Martial as United’s first-choice centre forward
Martial rues a missed chance during the Carabao Cup loss to West Ham last week
‘His body language is horrible to watch, he doesn’t want to run around and work hard to be Manchester United’s No 9.’
United return to action on Wednesday night when they host Villarreal in the Champions League as they look to respond to their surprise defeat to Young Boys on matchday one.
Despite not playing him too often, Solskjaer has defended Martial and his performances.
Back in August, the manager said: ‘As I’ve said before we really rate Anthony. Last season was disappointing, we had injuries, he lost some form, the season before he was our top scorer.
‘If Anthony is taking all the penalties, or Marcus Rashford last season would have taken all the penalties, that’s another 10-15 goals for a centre forward but we’ve got Bruno [Fernandes] who’s so confident on pens that you can’t take that away from him really.
‘I’m very confident and I like what I see from Anthony when I see him in training now, and when I see him in the gym he has that little bit of grit between his teeth again.’
