By Brian Bariyo Tumuramye
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes the best is yet to come from Manchester United striker Anthony Martial.
The Frenchman has regularly demonstrated his attacking prowess since signing for the Reds in 2015, but has mainly been deployed in the wide areas during his four-year stint at Old Trafford.
However, since taking over as United manager, Ole has opted to shift Anthony into a more central role, which has already paid dividends this season.
The 23-year-old has netted four times in five appearances so far this campaign, including his neat chip against Norwich City in our 3-1 victory at Carrow Road last weekend.
Ole has been impressed with Martial’s form this year and ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash with Bournemouth, he praised the Frenchman’s maturity in adapting to the striker’s role.
“I don’t think he’s had a long run of games as a no.9,” the boss said in Friday’s pre-match press conference and you have to be obsessed with scoring goals as a no.9, and he is looking more and more like a player who wants to score goals, not just showing his tricks.
“For me, he’s matured a lot in his behaviour on the training ground as well. I believe we’re going to see the best of him in the next few years,” Ole added.
With Daniel James and Marcus Rashford lining up either side of the newly appointed central striker against Norwich, the Reds appeared to be more fluid on the front foot than in previous outings.
Solskjaer believes much of this stems from Martial’s positive attitude in training, which he claims, has raised the squad’s morale, “He looks happier,” said the boss. “He’s such an infectious boy: his smile and his sense of humour; you can see he’s happy here and that rubs off on everyone and it’s great to see.
“It’s miles better on the training ground and they’re encouraging each other. It’s nice to see as a manager and coach, when you see them coming out and wanting to do extra training. (https://www.thenaturalresult.com/) ”
With United hoping to make it four wins on the trot in Saturday’s match against Bournemouth, Solskjaer believes this form could be the start of something special for the Reds.
“I think the group is more ready for tougher times and for better times,” he said. “I think it’s a miles better group that we’ve got now. I think the camaraderie, the attitude of the boys, the selflessness, the humility, “I think we are getting closer to what we want to see every day: the culture we want to see every day in training, the way we prepare for games.”
