Manchester United to cling onto Anthony Martial… because Jose Mourinho still believes he can be a star
ANTHONY MARTIAL will stay at Manchester United because Jose Mourinho still believes he can be a star.
The Frenchman, 22, has struggled to live up to his “world’s most expensive teenager tag” since Louis van Gaal signed him in 2015.
Martial’s four-year contract runs out next summer but United plan to trigger their option to extend that by 12 months.
Van Gaal hailed Martial as the world’s best player for his age when he paid Monaco £36million — which could rise to £57.6m based on success and appearances.
He struggled to nail down a first-team spot under Mourinho — which cost him a place in France’s World Cup-winning squad.
The signing of Alexis Sanchez in January then appeared to signal he was on the way out.
But Martial is set to get another chance to shine when United face San Jose Earthquakes in the second match of their USA pre-season tour tonight.
And midfielder Ander Herrera is backing Martial to come out all guns blazing this season.
The Spaniard, 28, said. “Anthony looks very sharp and he is very, very focused to smash it this season.
“Players like Anthony, like Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard, Juan Mata, Alexis Sanchez — they are all amazing players who can change games.
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“If one of them cannot play, we have three or four more so we have lots of options.”
United trailed champions Manchester City by 19 points last term.
But Herrera added: “We should not think that any other club has better players. It’s all about work and confidence.
"Prem games are fights and wars. We have to be ready.”