Dwight Yorke believes Anthony Martial is following a similar career path to the likes of Thierry Henry and Cristiano Ronaldo and has urged Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to have patience with his new number nine.
Martial enjoyed his best goalscoring season for Manchester United, netting 23 times in all competitions despite missing a two-month period through injury.
But the French forward has come under some criticism in the wake of United’s exit from the Europa League after failing to be ruthless in front of goal against Sevilla.
Martial wasted a handful of good opportunities that he would have been expected to score given his customary composure in front of goal.
But United great Yorke knows all about being a top centre-forward at Old Trafford and believes Martial still has time to develop and become a top striker.
“Anthony Martial is like myself, Thierry Henry, maybe Wayne Rooney and even Cristiano Ronaldo – starting on the wing, developing and improving their skills and then get to that number nine position. That’s what Martial is doing now,” Yorke told talkSPORT.
“I think Martial will get better, but he needs to play in that position a lot more, He needs to learn his trade.
“These guys are in their early 20s, I didn’t play as a centre-forward until I was around 24 and if you look at Henry and those guys, they all get to that position around the same age. So it’s a work in progress.”
Martial’s goal record this season is indisputable and he is in the conversation for United’s player of the season award after leading the line for his first full campaign under Solskjaer.
It can be argued that United need to sign a proficient finisher to provide more competition to Martial, but the 24-year-old has shown encouraging signs this season.
Solskjaer’s priority should be signing an elite wide forward and an experienced central defender this summer rather than searching for an immediate replacement for Martial.
