Erik ten Hag believes Anthony Martial will improve Manchester United’s attack – as long as he can stay fit for more than a couple of weeks. Martial returned to action vs Nottingham Forest after his latest lay-off this season, scoring the second goal in a 2-0 win at Old Trafford that secured United’s spot in the Carabao Cup final. The Frenchman now has six goals in 14 appearances for the club this season, but staying available has been his biggest issue and loan signing Wout Weghorst has shone since his arrival in January. But Ten Hag is confident Martial can add quality to United’s attack if he can maintain his fitness for the rest of the season.
Erik Ten Hag said: “We have to wait and to see if that’s going to happen, I’m sure a striker like he is will improve our team. You always need different qualities in a squad to be technical in games and between games, see what you need, what the games need, but Anthony Martial can create something with his movements, his dealing with the ball, his smartness and his finishing. I don’t know if he has been all the time down, but he’s not always available, we hope he will be available for a couple of games, a couple of weeks and months and if that’s the case he can be much more successful. Unfortunately the first half of the season we didn’t have too many choices in the frontline. Now we have options, that is what we need.”
Martial was part of a triple substitution Ten Hag made on the hour mark against Forest with the game still goalless, also introducing Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho at the same time.
Erik Ten Hag said: “That is what you need in a good squad if you want to be successful. We already score many goals from subs this season, today was really obvious, that was not always available.”
